Carvajal agrees Getafe move after medical but salary-cap hurdle blocks official signing

Dani Carvajal has agreed terms with Getafe and passed a medical, yet the 34-year-old’s return to football remains incomplete as of Tuesday 7 October — LaLiga’s salary-cap framework must approve his registration before the signing is official.

Carvajal became a free agent when his Real Madrid contract expired on 30 June 2026. He has not played a competitive match since, and a move to Getafe would bring him back to the Spanish top flight without a transfer fee changing hands. That, however, does not exempt the club from satisfying LaLiga’s financial requirements before adding him to José Bordalás’ squad.

Getafe president Ángel Torres confirmed, as reported by Fichajes, that the medical and the player-club agreement are both complete. The remaining obstacle is purely financial: Getafe must create sufficient room within its wage-limit allocation to register Carvajal with the league.

The constraint is not a new one for the club. Bordalás acknowledged in September that Getafe were operating with less financial capacity than most LaLiga sides, and Fichajes noted that the same salary-ceiling pressures had already shaped the club’s decisions during the summer transfer window. LaLiga’s approval is therefore a material condition rather than a routine administrative step.

Bordalás is reported to have contacted Carvajal personally to outline the sporting role on offer, an approach the defender received positively. The prospect of staying in Madrid and continuing in LaLiga is understood to have been a significant factor in Carvajal’s decision to choose Getafe.

No deadline for LaLiga’s decision was given in the report. If the league grants approval, Carvajal would officially join Bordalás’ squad after roughly four months without a club. Until that clearance arrives, the completed medical and agreed terms represent meaningful progress — but not a finalised signing.