The pair, who are brothers-in-law as well as former Real Madrid teammates, have spent the summer using the Spanish Football Federation's facilities at the Ciudad del FĂștbol to stay sharp while they wait for their next move, though their situations arrived from very different directions.
Carvajal's contract at the Bernabéu simply ran its course at the end of June, with the club choosing not to offer the 34-year-old a new deal, while Joselu, 36, opted to terminate his own contract with Qatari side Al-Gharafa several months ago.
Neither has shown any inclination to retire, with both wanting to keep playing at the highest level rather than wind down their careers early. Offers have reportedly come in for both players from clubs in the Middle East, an option Joselu had already tried and stepped away from â according to Estadio Deportivo, his preference now is a return to LaLiga with a top-flight club.
Carvajal faced a similar choice and reached the same conclusion, turning down interest from outside Europe in order to continue his career on the continent.
The closest either has come to a concrete move fell through before it could properly develop. Carvajal, who was born in the southern Madrid city of LeganĂ©s, had been strongly linked with a sentimental return to his hometown club, only for LeganĂ©s themselves to shelve the idea shortly after the surprise signing of Ălvaro Morata, a former Spain teammate of both players.
Joselu, for his part, has had more than one option on the table, receiving proposals from AlavĂ©s â a club he has represented before â and Sevilla, with the latter reportedly coming close before ultimately falling apart, leaving him to start the season without a contract.
With the transfer window now shut across Europe's major leagues, both players retain the freedom to sign for any club at any time as free agents, since their availability is not bound by the same deadlines that govern registered transfers.
Carvajal departs Real Madrid with an extraordinary trophy haul that includes six Champions League titles and the 2024 European Championship with Spain, while Joselu's career has taken in spells across LaLiga, the Bundesliga and Ligue 1 before his most recent stint in Qatar. For now, both remain focused on the same goal: finding a way back into Spanish top-flight football before the season moves too far without them.