The signing of Marc Cucurella is not just a strong reinforcement for Real Madrid's left-back position, following the player's impressive performance in the World Cup, but also brings an additional legal advantage.

With this deal, Real Madrid meets the minimum requirement of homegrown players needed to participate in European competitions, which is eight players, according to UEFA regulations, as reported by Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo.

UEFA regulations state that the maximum registration in List A is 25 players, of which at least eight must be homegrown players, either trained by the club itself or by another club within the same national association. If this number is not met, the squad size is automatically reduced by the same number of missing players.

A homegrown player is defined as one who has spent three years between the ages of 15 and 21 at the same club, or at any other club belonging to the same league.

This condition applies to Cucurella, who came through Barcelona's academy before playing for Eibar, Getafe, and then Chelsea. It also applies to Lunin, Asensio, Carreras, Huijsen, Camavinga, Valverde, Vinicius, and Güler from the current squad.

Thus, the number of players meeting the requirement could rise to ten, although the potential departure of Asensio might reduce it, in which case he could be replaced by Brazilian Rodrygo.

It is worth noting that clubs are also allowed to register an unlimited number of players in List B, provided they meet the eligibility criteria set by UEFA.