Juan Ayuso and Primož Roglič are the latest marquee names linked to Team Movistar in the latest flurry of “silly season” speculation as the Spanish outfit eyes a top-tier leader to reignite its grand tour ambitions.
Backed by strong sponsors, the legendary Spanish squad is actively exploring options to get back in the yellow jersey conversation, but with the transfer market heating up and star salaries soaring, Movistar is facing headwinds to land a proven Tour de France contender.
Enric Mas remains the men’s team’s flag bearer, but at 31 in January, no one expects him to improve on his fifth from 2020.
On Tuesday, the team confirmed he will not race for the remainder of the 2025 season in a major blow just weeks ahead of the Vuelta a España.
Also read: Evenepoel headlines all the transfer and trade rumors
While Movistar has quietly assembled an exciting crop of under-25 talent, including last year’s Vuelta breakout star Pablo Castrillo, 24, young promise Iván Romeo, 21, and Colombian climber Diego Pescador, the roster is still missing a rider with proven podium pedigree.
Rumors linking Ayuso to a possible shock exit from UAE Emirates-XRG have gained traction in the Spanish media, while Roglič is once again being mentioned as a potential late-career marquee signing.
Movistar isn’t speaking about the latest rumors, but the team wants a headliner, and sources say it’s willing to spend if the right deal surfaces.
No more for Mas in 2025
First comes some fresh news, and it’s not good.
In a setback for the team just ahead of the Vuelta, officials confirmed Mas will not race for the remainder of 2025.
“Following recent medical consultations and examinations following his withdrawal from the last Tour de France, the Balearic native has been diagnosed with thrombophlebitis in his left leg, possibly post-traumatic in origin,” a team note read Tuesday.
“This diagnosis requires specific treatment based on rest and a lack of intense physical activity, which precludes his participation in competitions for the remainder of the season.”
Enric Mas is set to miss La Vuelta a Espana and the rest of the season, following complications from his knee injury injury suffered during stage 18 of the Tour de France
Get well soon, Enric! pic.twitter.com/GDJ6yDhMxs
— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) August 5, 2025
The timing couldn’t be worse. The Vuelta is Movistar’s “home” grand tour and best stage-race podium opportunity, and Mas is its most reliable GC bet.
Despite his struggles in France, the Balearic climber has finished on the Vuelta podium four times. In recent years, he’s been as close to a guaranteed top-3 as the Spanish team could count on.
His absence at the Vuelta will only magnify the men’s team’s shortcomings among its GC ranks and put more pressure to sign a big name for 2026.
Roaming Roglič? Not so, says Red Bull
Roglič — whose blockbuster move to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe electrified the 2024 transfer market — is back on the rumor mill, with Spanish outlets reporting that the Telefónica-backed team is reportedly sounding out options.
The Slovenian raced an enigmatic Tour de France, often making his own race and showing inconsistent flashes of form and intention.
The upside is that he didn’t crash and finished eighth overall, his best Tour result since that brutal 2020 defeat to Tadej Pogačar in Paris.
Whispers of a potential exit have only intensified with mounting reports that Remco Evenepoel will join Red Bull for 2026. That could squeeze Roglič out, especially if his deal ends this year.
Aero is optional when you’re Primož
Primož Roglič surprised us this season by showing off his hairy legs at Volta ao Algarve and some short socks at the Tour de France.
Sprint Cycling pic.twitter.com/QaO43ef8B8
— Velon CC (@VelonCC) August 4, 2025
Red Bull team boss Ralph Denk was quick to pour cold water on the speculation.
“It’s not true that his contract is going to expire,” Denk said on a team podcast last week. “We’ll speak after the Tour about his objectives and his motivation. The only races he hasn’t won are the Tour de France and the Tour de Suisse. We’ll see.”
Red Bull officials confirmed that Roglič will not defend his Vuelta a España title, meaning it’s the first time since 2018 the Slovenian won’t race in the Spanish grand tour.
Jai Hindley and Giulio Pelizzari are expected to carry team colors at the Vuelta, where Roglič won four times in six starts from 2019 to 2024.
Aching Ayuso? He’s under contract through 2028
The second name linked to the Movistar men’s team is Ayuso, and not for the first time.
At just 22, Ayuso is already widely seen as Spain’s next grand tour hope. He can climb, he can time trial, he’s aggressive, and he’s got the raw ambition to win. In many ways, he’s tailor-made for the team’s identity.
The problem? He’s under contract with UAE Emirates-XRG through 2028. Still, the transfer chatter persists.
Whispers suggest he’s no longer happy at UAE, where he knows he will always play second fiddle to generational great Pogačar. The meteoric rise of Isaac del Toro only complicates things.
Is there something there?
Que gran victoria de Isaac del Toro en el Circuito de Getxo, cada día es mejor ciclista y gana carreras con gran facilidad.
A destacar que hoy tuvo una gran ayuda de su compañero Juan Ayuso, que le lanzó en su ataque y después hizo de secante a los del grupo perseguidor. pic.twitter.com/ikxaML7so7
— Adrián Llopis (@adrianllopisc) August 3, 2025
L’Équipe reported that Ayuso recently dropped his father as his representative and signed with powerhouse agent Giovanni Lombardi, the former pro who represented Peter Sagan throughout his career.
“The fact that he has an agent doesn’t change anything,” UAE sport director Joxean Matxín Fernández told L’Equipe. “I have a great relationship with Juan, we’re in constant discussion, and he has a contract until 2028. What else can I say? Many riders hire agents even though they already have current contracts.”
UAE officials say they have no intention of letting Ayuso go, and there would be a hefty buy-out clause to make it happen. That doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen.
Movistar turnover in 2025
Team Movistar finds itself in a pinch going into the transfer season.
The team is hungry for a new marquee rider to recapture the glory days of Alejandro Valverde, Nairo Quintana, and Richard Carapaz, who delivered the last grand tour win for “los Blues” in the 2019 Giro.
Efforts to sign Carlos Rodriguez in 2024 failed, but it was reported in the Spanish media that Ineos Grenadiers paid a hefty payout to Movistar to keep the promising Spanish rider in an Ineos kit after he had signed a letter of intent to join Movistar.
Movistar wants Spanish riders for its Spanish sponsor, and this year, riders like Roger Adrià (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Juanpe López (Lidl-Trek), and Raúl García Pierna (Arkéa B&B Hotels) are on the team’s shopping list.
equipo sería:
Nairo Quintana.
Natnael Tesfatsion.
Diego Pescador.
Javier Romo.
Iván Romeo.
Orluis Aular.
Michel Hessmann.
Y Pablo Castrillo.— Felix Roberto E. (@f_roberto1) August 4, 2025
Team Movistar faces a major roster shake-up for 2026 for its men’s team, with Quintana, Fernando Gaviria, Nelson Oliveira, Ruben Guerreiro, Davide Cimolai, Gregor Mühlberger, Antonio Pedrero, Will Barta, Jorge Arcas, and Albert Torres all out of contract at the end of 2025.
All of those riders are in their 30s — except for Barta, who is expected to stay — so the team will be active on the market to find fresh legs.
Hunting for the next GC star
Movistar used to be a major force in the grand tour season, regularly signing many of the top Spanish and Latin American riders. That started to change at the start of the decade with the rise of the “super teams” and $50 million team budgets.
Movistar — with a middle-of-the-peloton budget estimated at $30 million to $35 million — simply cannot afford to equal the salaries that teams like UAE are paying out to rising Latin American and Spanish talents like Ayuso and Del Toro.
Einer Rubio, 27, remains under contract through 2026, and the Colombian has hit the top-10 in the past two editions of the Giro d’Italia, but he’s not going to be a Tour contender.
The team has stability, however, with Telefónica committing to sponsoring Team Movistar through the 2029 season, following a five-year extension announced in December 2024.
Gracias a todos por los mensajes❤️
Iba todo perfecto, pero esto también es el ciclismo.
Aprender y seguir adelanteVolveremos @SprintCycling | @Movistar_Team pic.twitter.com/xhqKwOoU4C
— Iván Romeo (@ivanromeo_03) July 26, 2025
This talent-pinch reflects the reality of today’s rider market.
Wealthier teams have deeper pockets to sign the top riders to longer contracts, meaning that when teams have money or space, they often cannot find riders on the open marketplace.
That’s another reason driving teams to invest heavily in young riders and building out U23 programs.
As Denk told Velo, teams must either sign riders on the open market or develop young talent in-house.
Movistar committed this summer to building out its own U23 development team, so now it’s just missing that blockbuster name to restart the Spanish powerhouse.