Real Madrid embarrass Liverpool once again after what has just happened

Liverpool were probably expecting to be the team to beat during the 2025-26 season.

They added players such as Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz to their already stacked ranks with several other players also being brought in.

However, as good as the Reds' team looked on paper, it was clear that things weren't going to go to plan.

Isak failed to meet expectations and others such as Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong looked way out of their depth.

This has led to Liverpool needing yet another massive rebuild but, before they sell any of their first-team squad, they should take a leaf out of Real Madrid's book after being embarrassed by them once again.

Liverpool must ensure that their sales can benefit them long-term rather than just all at once

One thing that Real Madrid and Liverpool have always been good at is developing young talent.

Their academies are often full to the brim with high potential players but, in Real's case, they seem to be doing a much better job at getting the maximum amount possible out of all the deals they make.

For example, they agreed a buy-back clause worth around €9 million for Nico Paz as part of his deal to join Como and then sold him back to the Serie A outfit for €60 million.

They also earned around €20 million from Victor Munoz's Liverpool move as they agreed a 50 per cent sell-on clause with Osasuna when they sold him to them.

These are all rather spectacular deals which, when you look at what Liverpool have got from the departures of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jarell Quansah, make it feel like the Reds have done themselves in.

Since Liverpool have one of the best academies in the world, they should be earning 10s of millions from their academy.

Instead, they've made a thing of getting peanuts for their talent which is why Real have embarrassed them once again.

Because, in Quansah and Tyler Morton's case, both players have come on leaps and bounds since exiting Anfield and both could earn their current clubs a decent chunk of change.

But, since Liverpool have failed to future-proof themselves, they've missed out and are now left looking rather red-faced.

Curtis Jones' exit cannot be the next mistake that Liverpool make with their academy graduates

Quansah, Alexander-Arnold and Morton have all left Liverpool over the last couple of years.

Indeed, they did manage to get decent upfront fees for all of them but, aside from that, the deals haven't really worked out for them.

Of course, Alexander-Arnold was a tad different as he wanted to leave and as his contract was set to expire, he was allowed to do so for free.

Now, there aren't that many academy graduates left at Anfield but, of the ones that remain, Curtis Jones feels like the most likely player to leave at the moment.

Inter Milan have been vying for his transfer for the longest time now but, since his contract is going to expire in June 2027 and there's no sign of a renewal at the moment, it looks like he is either going to leave for peanuts this summer or leave for nothing at the end of the season.

Neither of these outcomes would be good for Liverpool, especially since they're currently looking for ways to strengthen their midfield, rather than weaken it.

There's obviously no knowing what Iraola's squad will look like by the start of the 2026-27 season but, if there's one thing that Liverpool should do, it's to try and be more like Los Blancos, especially when it comes to their academy players.