5 Real Madrid academy graduates currently thriving away from the club in 2024-25
Real Madrid have long been known for their commitment to Galactico signings, but their academy has always produced talent on a consistent basis.
The difference is that Madrid are a lot more willing to sell those talents to clubs around the world a lot earlier than other clubs of their size are, not ashamed to sign them back if they realise the potential once shown in La Fabrica.
We’ve picked out five top footballers impressing within Europe’s top five leagues who have thrived since leaving Los Blancos’ academy.
Alvaro Morata
He left, he came back, he left, he came back again, he left again…
Morata’s career is often joked about for his seemingly endless cycle of switching between the two major players in Madrid and Juventus. Memes aside, though, he’s far from a joke himself.
While not the most prolific, the striker has carved out an excellent career and appears to be ageing well.
Morata now finds himself the captain of the Spain national team and has scored seven times against Real in 13 games, most recently doing so this season in the Champions League for Milan.
Nico Paz
Tempted away from La Fabrica by a former Barcelona man, Paz is thriving in Italy.
READ: Real Madrid have a future superstar – & he’s honing his skills under a Barcelona legend
Marcos Llorente
Madrid born and bred, Llorente has spent the vast majority of his senior career impressing in his hometown aside from a loan to Alaves. Not for Real, though. For Atletico.
Los Rojiblancos struck a deal for the midfielder worth around £35million back in 2019 and he’s been a part of Diego Simeone’s army ever since and can often be found in the Champions League last 16 being a thorn in somebody’s side.
The 29-year-old was key as Atleti won La Liga in 2020-21 and has started strong this season, scoring twice and assisting once in his opening eight games.
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Pablo Sarabia
Despite starting out at Real, flourishing in Seville and then spending four years in Paris, it feels like only now are we truly beginning to see Sarabia reach his potential, at the age of 32.
It’s taken him a while to reach the Premier League, but he finally did so when joining Wolves in January 2023 for a cut-price fee. An intelligent and technically astute winger, he feels like a player who will only get better with age.
While not the most flashy or consistent, his quality appears to be shining through with increasing regularity in the Midlands.
Philipp Lienhart
A lesser-known name unless you own a tote bag and a MUNDIAL subscription, Lienhart started out at Rapid Wien but joined La Fabrica as a teenager in 2014 and wound up playing regular reserve team football with Real Madrid Castilla under Zinedine Zidane.
The Austrian was never really given a chance to break through at Real and probably needed to leave in order to develop given the players ahead of him in the mid-to-late 2010s, and joined Freiburg in 2017.
He’s been in the Bundesliga ever since and can now be considered one of the best defenders in the division.
Lienhart has been capped 28 times for Austria and has been a consistent force in an impressive Freiburg outfit, so much so that some reports have linked him with a move back to Real amid a defensive injury crisis.
Don’t be surprised if he winds up back there into his thirties.