The structure of the deal is reported as £47.5m in a fixed fee, with a further £4.3m in potential add-ons. Cucurella, 27, is currently in the United States with Spain, where the tournament is being co-hosted alongside Mexico and Canada.
Sources close to the negotiations say terms were struck quickly once Real Madrid and the player reached a verbal agreement, with transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano among those confirming the move was advancing.
Cucurella joined Chelsea from Brighton & Hove Albion for £63m in 2022 and has made 163 appearances for the west London club since. A graduate of Barcelona's youth academy, he has long been linked with a return to Spain, and had also been mentioned in connection with Atletico Madrid and Barcelona themselves.
The defender's relationship with Chelsea's hierarchy had grown strained in recent months. During the March international break, Cucurella gave an interview criticising the direction of the club following Enzo Maresca's exit, suggesting Chelsea had been "more stable" under the Italian.
He was reportedly part of a group of Spanish-speaking players at Stamford Bridge who struggled to settle under Maresca's successor, Liam Rosenior, and who were frustrated by the upheaval that followed.
Rosenior was eventually dismissed, with Chelsea finishing 10th in the Premier League and missing out on European qualification despite a brief spell under caretaker boss Calum McFarlane.
Cucurella had three years remaining on his Chelsea contract, having agreed improved terms without committing to an extension last season. That situation is understood to have factored into the club's willingness to sanction his exit now rather than risk a longer stand-off.
At Real Madrid, Cucurella would arrive into a squad being reshaped by president Florentino Perez following the appointment of Jose Mourinho as head coach. The Portuguese is also said to be pursuing Manchester City's Bernardo Silva and Inter Milan full-back Denzel Dumfries, while France international Ibrahima Konate is poised to join after departing Liverpool.
For Chelsea, the sale of Cucurella adds to a summer of significant turnover under new manager Xabi Alonso's old rival turned successor at the Bernabeu — though it is Stamford Bridge, not Madrid, doing the rebuilding this time. Former Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen boss Alonso has been appointed Chelsea's permanent manager for the 2026-27 campaign, and the funds generated by Cucurella's departure will likely factor into his rebuilding plans.
The deal also has ripple effects elsewhere in the Chelsea dressing room. Cucurella's expected exit has fuelled talk that he won't be the only player making the move to the Spanish capital this summer, with team-mates watching the situation closely as their own futures come into focus.
For Cucurella, the move represents a homecoming of sorts — a return to Spain, a reunion with the international set-up he knows well, and a chance to compete for major honours at a club he grew up idolising from across the city at Barcelona.