Forget the €50m valuation and the Premier League queue. The paperwork that will decide where Jacobo Ramon plays next season was signed before any of them had even started scouting him.
When Como bought the 21-year-old centre-back from Real Madrid for €2.5m in the summer of 2025, Madrid retained 50% of any future resale and wrote in a buy-back clause they can trigger in 2026, 2027 or 2028. The repurchase price is around €9m, roughly £7.6m. Both pieces of fine print are now worth more than the original fee several times over.
Ramon’s contract at Como runs until 30 June 2030, and he is now valued around €50m according to recent reporting on United’s interest. If any Premier League club wants to sign him from Como, they will need Real Madrid’s cooperation on the sell-on. If Real Madrid simply trigger the buy-back first, the English clubs are shut out entirely.
Why a defender has become this expensive
Two weeks before the Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool reports surfaced, Ramon gave scouts the single clip they needed. Como beat Manchester United 4-1 at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia on 21 October 2026, and Ramon headed home the fourth from six yards after Bruno Kaiki’s cross from the left, set up by Alex Valle.
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The goal was the exclamation mark on a performance that drew the kind of attention Cesc Fabregas’ side had been enjoying all autumn. On Como’s Champions League debut campaign, Fabregas’ side have followed the Manchester United win by hammering Lens 9-1 away from home, three wins from four in the league phase. Ramon’s physical frame and composure in possession were already being flagged by recruitment departments; the Champions League goal turned a long-term project into a January and summer priority.
The Premier League’s crowded queue
Chelsea’s interest is reported as the longest-standing, dating back to June. Manchester United, dealing with uncertainty around Lisandro Martinez and a defence they failed to refresh in the previous transfer window, are now stepping up their monitoring. Arsenal, Liverpool and Fulham are also tracking the Spaniard.
All of them face the same problem. At €50m, Como would collect a transformational fee, half of which would route straight to Madrid under the sell-on. At €9m, Real Madrid simply walk the player back to the Bernabeu and decide for themselves whether he stays, moves out on loan, or is resold at a profit.
What Real Madrid are expected to do
Several recent reports indicate Real Madrid are prepared to activate the buy-back in 2027, treating the €9m as a routine piece of asset management rather than a difficult decision. What happens afterward is the actual open question: the Bernabeu could promote Ramon into the first-team rotation, send him on loan, or auction him off at the inflated market rate.
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For the Premier League clubs, the only route that bypasses Real Madrid runs through Como before 2027 and asks Fabregas’ club to accept a fee high enough that the sell-on windfall justifies ignoring Madrid’s displeasure. Como have shown no public appetite for that kind of fight, and Ramon has shown no sign of wanting to force it either.
The next buy-back window opens in the summer of 2027.
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