He is not a homegrown player, but three years (between 2017 and 2020) in the white discipline make Álvaro Carreras (Ferrol, 2003) now stepping into what was once one of his homes. This has brought tears to both him and his parents during the official presentation at Ciudad Real Madrid. "I left as a child and return as a man," the protagonist pointed out.
This path is not uncommon for other young players in the first team today, who also play as defenders, like Dani Carvajal, who had his 'military service' at Bayer Leverkusen, or Fran García, a rival in his position who played three seasons at Rayo Vallecano.
It is precisely the left side that the Galician full-back comes to reinforce, where they already have, in addition to the aforementioned Fran García, Ferland Mendy whose injuries make him a very irregular option. However, it is the only position where Real Madrid has three similar profile options.
On Tuesday, July 15, Carreras saw the end of his soap opera when in the morning, after the relevant medical examination, he signed the contract that linked him to Real Madrid for the next six years. The arrival of the Spanish player, one of the clear objectives for the Real Madrid board, became a headache in the Chamartín offices due to the toughness of the negotiations with Benfica's executives. The intention was for the Galician player to sign, like Dean Huijsen and Trent Alexander-Arnold, in order to be able to play in the Club World Cup with Real Madrid, but he remained in the Portuguese discipline until today.
The Galician defender, who is signed for around 50 million euros, thus leaves the Portuguese discipline without Manchester United, the club that had a purchase option for 18 million euros, exercising it. It was precisely to Manchester United that he went from the Fábrica, although he never played an official match with the first team and always played in the reserve team.
From Manchester, he was loaned to Preston North End, where he excelled in the Championship (the English Second Division); to Granada, where he only played 14 games and did not find continuity, and finally to Benfica, which would end up signing him for six million euros in the summer of 2024 and where he would make it into the Portuguese league's ideal XI.
Real Madrid now signs a matured full-back, with 10 Champions League games under his belt where he faced players like Lamine Yamal or Giuliano Simeone, whom he will see again in the Spanish League, and with the ability to play in a back five or four. With great offensive skills, scoring four goals and providing five assists last year, Carreras has been improving his defensive ability, positioning, and ball distribution. Although the latter two characteristics are more the responsibility of Xabi Alonso.
Carreras will wear the number 18 shirt, which is left vacant by Jesús Vallejo, who will play for Albacete Balompié next season, and which was also worn by, among others, Gareth Bale and Javier Saviola, another player who made the switch between Benfica and Real Madrid. Florentino Pérez spoke of a historic and friendly club referring to the Portuguese and welcomed the player who comes to "build his dream" and "to help us be better." "You decided to cross borders to become the player you want to be," commented the president.