Real Madrid had a busy summer transfer window preparing for Jose Mourinho’s return to the club, but they also let go of some players who didn’t fit into the plans anymore.

There were some big names cut adrift as well, with two first-team players reaching the end of their contracts, one more having his ripped up ahead of schedule, and another two being sold.

Here’s how they’ve fared at their new clubs so far.

Dani Ceballos

Ceballos was supposed to be under contract with Madrid this season before becoming a free agent next summer, but it was agreed for him to move on this year instead.

It took a while for the midfielder to land at a new club. His exit from Madrid was announced in late June, but it wasn’t until the start of September that he officially signed for Real Betis.

Quite why it took so long is a bit of a mystery when it was always anticipated that Ceballos would go back to Betis one day, after originally leaving them for Madrid in 2017.

Ceballos hasn’t exactly hit the ground running back at Betis. His first five appearances were all off the bench and he was taken off at half time after his first start against Barcelona.

He is starting to feature more often from the first minute, including against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League recently, but hasn’t completed 90 minutes yet.

It’s a case of building up his match fitness after missing pre-season. He also has tough competition for places in the Betis midfield, but will be backing himself for a better run of form after the international break.

David Alaba

After five years of service, the last three of which were affected by injuries, Madrid released Alaba in the summer.

He became a marquee signing for Serie A side Udinese in September, signing a contract to last until the end of the season.

He made his debut off the bench against Torino in October before starting at centre-back six days later against Lecce.

Since then, the Austrian has succumbed to a calf injury, leaving him stuck on two appearances for his new club so far. He was on the losing side in both.

Udinese are bottom of the Serie A table as things stand, which is quite a fall from the levels Alaba is used to playing at with Bayern Munich and Madrid.

Dani Carvajal

The most emotional of all the Madrid departures this summer was Carvajal’s. A product of the club’s youth system, he spent 13 years in the first team after returning from Bayer Leverkusen and eventually ended up as captain.

Madrid decided not to renew the right-back’s contract when it expired and he remained a free agent until mid-October.

After a bit of will-they-won’t-they, fellow capital club Getafe signed Carvajal on a contract until the end of the season.

He went straight into their starting lineup for their game against Rayo Vallecano, the first of three consecutive starts in La Liga. He got booked in the first two.

Carvajal completed his move too late to be included in Getafe’s Conference League squad for the league phase and sat out their Copa del Rey win over sixth-tier side UB Lebrijana.

Fran Garcia

Garcia got three years back at Madrid after re-joining from Rayo Vallecano in 2023, before being sold to Real Betis for €4m in July.

As he’d have hoped, it’s given him the chance to become a more regular starter in La Liga. He started 10 league games for Madrid last season and is already on nine for Betis this season.

The left-back assisted the winning goal against Valencia on his second appearance for Betis. He also set one up in the Champions League against Porto.

Garcia earned a first Spain call-up in three years in October, playing a full 90 minutes against the Czech Republic.

Betis must be looking at that €4m spend as a bargain. Madrid might be interested in how he’s doing too – they’re entitled to 50% of any future sale.

Gonzalo Garcia

For a fleeting moment, it looked like Garcia was going to break through at the Bernabeu. He did well at the Club World Cup last summer and went on to score eight goals last season.

But regular first-team football was just beyond him. Thus, he opted to follow Alvaro Arbeloa to Fulham in a €40m deal in August.

Garcia scored on his Premier League debut against Chelsea and then against AFC Wimbledon in the Carabao Cup a few days later, but has drawn a blank from his next 11 appearances.

He remains a regular starter for Fulham up front, but is emblematic of a team that struggles to convert their chances.