This was always going to be a crucial summer for Real Madrid with their impending one-year transfer ban looming on the horizon.
But instead of focusing on who the Spanish giants will bring in, Madrid president Florentino Perez is faced with a potential unprecedented exodus as Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, James Rodriguez and Isco all want to leave the Bernabéu.
Modric and Kross are regular starters in Zinedine Zidane’s team, but the constant turmoil behind the scenes and the rotating managers have left them both disillusioned with life in the Spanish capital.
Both players are highly rated and there would be no shortage of takers if they if they do become available. A lot of interest will come from the Premier League with Kroos being previous linked with a move to Manchester United and Arsenal, while Modric was bought from Tottenham Hotspur.
While Perez would be expected to fight and keep Kroos and Modric, that is not the case with James Rodriguez and Isco as neither player has matched the expectations Madrid had when they signed them from Monaco and Malaga respectively.
Isco has never consolidated his place in the team, while James has struggled in this, his second year at the club, following an impressive first season on the back of the World Cup in Brazil.
The challenge for Perez will be to recoup the €120m they spent on the Colombian and Spanish internationals. The Premier League sides will have money to burn this summer, and the funds raised from the sales of Isco, James, Modric And Kroos would go a long way towards rebuilding an unbalanced squad that is in need of an overhaul.