Cucurella joins Real Madrid from Chelsea on same day he”s set to play at World Cup for Spain

NEW YORK: (Jun 15) (AP) Real Madrid announced the signing of Marc Cucurella from Chelsea on Monday, the day the left back is set to play for Spain in its opening match at the World Cup.

The 27-year-old Cucurella — one of the world’s most easily recognizable players because of his long, curly hair — has signed a six-year contract, Madrid said, and for a fee that the BBC reported to be 60 million euros ($70 million).

It could be the first of a slew of signings made by Madrid since the hiring of Jose Mourinho as coach last week and the re-election of Florentino Pérez as the club’s president. Pérez has already said he wants to sign Liverpool center back Ibrahima Konaté and Inter Milan right back Denzel Dumfries.