Position 18 and 29 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
The offer from Mallorca for Sergio Mestre was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Real Madrid Castilla, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad17 Jul 2028
Loren Zúñiga falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Diego Aguado signs something — a contract at Real Madrid Castilla or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The name of Diego Aguado has come up in conversations Real Madrid Castilla were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Real Madrid Castilla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Loren Zúñiga is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
What was a back-page link has become a chant, and the chant is not friendly. Real Madrid Castilla would rather it were settled quietly, and it has stopped being quiet.
In brief
SquadSergio Mestre is the talk of the training ground
Position 18 and 29 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Real Madrid Castilla can pretend not to have heard.
Oscar Naasei was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Real Madrid Castilla hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
A new face in his position, and Oscar Naasei suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Real Madrid Castilla have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
Position 18 and 29 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Real Madrid Castilla, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Sergio Parra will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Real Madrid Castilla the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Real Madrid Castilla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Loren Zúñiga will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Real Madrid Castilla the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Successful dribbles: 24. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
4 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Real Madrid Castilla can tell you which week it ends in.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jeremy de León was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Fernando Vargas and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
0‑3 to Ponferradina, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Daniel Yáñez and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Real Madrid Castilla can tell you which week it ends in.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Martí Garrido after 0‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Real Madrid Castilla told Loren Zúñiga something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Daniel Yáñez was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jeremy de León was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Successful dribbles: 17. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The dugout1 May 2028
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Martí Garrido left the room before anybody could ask which.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Real Madrid Castilla will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
The team at the top of the table next, and the honest measure of where this side actually is. Anybody can beat the club below them; the question is what happens against Ponferradina.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Real Madrid Castilla can pretend not to have heard.
Successful dribbles: 24. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Real Madrid Castilla they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jeremy de León is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Marked 7.36 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Real Madrid Castilla had the best player on the pitch.
The dugout24 Apr 2028
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Martí Garrido was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Real Madrid Castilla dressing room was either.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Loren Zúñiga will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Real Madrid Castilla the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Player ratings17 Apr 2028
Daniel Yáñez, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.66
A mark of 7.66 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Hugo De Llanos has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
A 1‑0 win over Osasuna Promesas, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Marked 8.43 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Successful dribbles: 16. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The dugout17 Apr 2028
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Martí Garrido, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Real Madrid Castilla can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Real Madrid Castilla they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Fernando Vargas was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at Real Madrid Castilla that is a harder question to answer.
4 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jeremy de León is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Manu Serrano and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
He is 21 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Zamora defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
17 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Successful dribbles: 17. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Real Madrid Castilla told Jesús Fortea something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
The dugout6 Mar 2028
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Martí Garrido left the room before anybody could ask which.
Squad6 Mar 2028
A place in the month's best eleven for Jesús Fortea
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Jesús Fortea has come out of that comparison in the side, and Real Madrid Castilla have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
0 appearances and 0 clean sheets. A goalkeeper learns his job by playing it, and a season that gave him neither the games nor the shut-outs is a year taken off the front of a career.
In brief
MarketEnrique Núñez returns from a loan that gave him nothing
16 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Real Madrid Castilla has to find a result from somewhere.
At 22 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Real Madrid Castilla they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jeremy de León was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
At 20 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.26 on the card, and the Real Madrid Castilla support went home talking about one name.
The dugout28 Feb 2028
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Martí Garrido was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Real Madrid Castilla dressing room was either.
Squad28 Feb 2028
Jesús Fortea, 20, is the weekend’s best young player
Measured against every other kid in the division and first among them. The senior award is where Real Madrid Castilla would like this to lead.
15 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Real Madrid Castilla has to find a result from somewhere.
0‑3 against Unionistas, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jeremy de León was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
The dugout21 Feb 2028
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑3 defeat, delivered by Martí Garrido to a room that had heard them before.
“I am not asking anybody to be better than they are. I am asking everybody to be as good as they are, every week.” Said out loud, in front of everybody, and the room at Real Madrid Castilla was different afterwards.
14 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Real Madrid Castilla has to find a result from somewhere.
The offer from Ceuta for Sergio Parra was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Cristian David and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Player ratings14 Feb 2028
Hugo De Llanos was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.22. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Marked 8.13 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
A point taken on 88 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
13 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Real Madrid Castilla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jeremy de León is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Hugo De Llanos has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
The name of Sergio Parra has come up in conversations Real Madrid Castilla were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Daniel Yáñez is the division's best young player this month
At 20 he has spent a month being better than everybody his age in the league, which is a different and harder thing than one good afternoon. Real Madrid Castilla will try very hard not to make too much of it.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Real Madrid Castilla will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
7 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Successful dribbles: 23. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Real Madrid Castilla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jeremy de León was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The name of Sergio Parra has come up in conversations Real Madrid Castilla were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Real Madrid Castilla, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
At 22 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
4 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Real Madrid Castilla can tell you which week it ends in.
Cristian David and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Mario Rivas has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Marked 7.24. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.
The dugout20 Dec 2027
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Martí Garrido chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Cristian David is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
A midfielder is measured on whether the team functions when he is on the pitch, which is nearly impossible to see and completely obvious in retrospect. 15 actions, 7.14, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.
Cristian David was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Jeremy de León has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.46 on the card, and the Real Madrid Castilla support went home talking about one name.
The dugout13 Dec 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Martí Garrido was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Real Madrid Castilla dressing room was either.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Real Madrid Castilla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Successful dribbles: 19. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The young player of the month award goes to a 15-year-old at Real Madrid Castilla who has looked like the finished article for four weekends running. The next four are the ones that decide whether he is.
Something was said to Daniel Yáñez and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
The dugout6 Dec 2027
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Martí Garrido to a room that had heard them before.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Real Madrid Castilla they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
The dugout29 Nov 2027
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Martí Garrido to a room that had heard them before.
Sergio Parra, 15, plays like he has been here for years — 8.07
A mark of 8.07 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 15-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Successful dribbles: 21. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
It finished 1‑0, and it was Sergio Parra’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Real Madrid Castilla.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Martí Garrido kept it short after the 1‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Cristian David trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Real Madrid Castilla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jeremy de León is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Successful dribbles: 19. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Ourense CF left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout8 Nov 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Martí Garrido left the room before anybody could ask which.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Real Madrid Castilla will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
Daniel Yáñez, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 8.05
A mark of 8.05 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Real Madrid Castilla is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Daniel Yáñez has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Real Madrid Castilla have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Real Madrid Castilla they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Cristian David has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Successful dribbles: 16. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Marked 7.35 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Real Madrid Castilla had the best player on the pitch.
The dugout4 Oct 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Martí Garrido was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Real Madrid Castilla dressing room was either.
19 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
17 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
The offer from Arenas Club for Sergio Parra was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
David Jiménez and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Jesús Fortea has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Real Madrid Castilla will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
In brief
Player ratingsNobody on the pitch touched Jesús Fortea
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Real Madrid Castilla they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jeremy de León was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
Squad6 Sep 2027
A place in the month's best eleven for Jesús Fortea
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Jesús Fortea has come out of that comparison in the side, and Real Madrid Castilla have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Real Madrid Castilla have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The offer from FC Augsburg for Jesús Fortea was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Real Madrid Castilla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Add another name to the list: Arenas Club have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Sergio Parra. The answer from Real Madrid Castilla has not changed — yet.
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Lamini Fati trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and Real Madrid Castilla have no good answer.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jeremy de León was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Real Madrid Castilla is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
Daniel Yáñez has done the arithmetic and does not like the answer. Nothing corrodes a squad faster, and no club has ever solved it by explaining the wage structure to a footballer.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Sergio Mestre had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jeremy de León is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Manu Serrano was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Cristian David was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jeremy de León is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Jesús Fortea signs something — a contract at Real Madrid Castilla or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Position 1 on 93 points. Every season is a story and this is the last line of it, and now the club has three months to decide what the next one is about.
Kylian Mbappé and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Eduardo Camavinga was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Jude Bellingham. 2‑1 against Celta, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
He is 23 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Player ratings24 May 2027
Jude Bellingham was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.39. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
13 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Real Madrid Castilla can tell you which week it ends in.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Real Madrid Castilla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Jesús Fortea has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
A mark of 7.38, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Martí Garrido was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Real Madrid Castilla dressing room was either.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
13 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Real Madrid Castilla has to find a result from somewhere.
11 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Real Madrid Castilla can tell you which week it ends in.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Real Madrid Castilla is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Real Madrid Castilla this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Martí Garrido after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Real Madrid Castilla know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
11 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Real Madrid Castilla has to find a result from somewhere.
9 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Real Madrid Castilla can tell you which week it ends in.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Cristian David is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Real Madrid Castilla will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Jesús Fortea is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
At 20 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Real Madrid Castilla, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Cristian David signs something — a contract at Real Madrid Castilla or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at Real Madrid Castilla that is a harder question to answer.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 20 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
10 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Real Madrid Castilla has to find a result from somewhere.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 8 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Real Madrid Castilla they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Manu Serrano and Real Madrid Castilla agree another 4 years.
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Martí Garrido after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
8 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Real Madrid Castilla has to find a result from somewhere.
6 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Real Madrid Castilla can tell you which week it ends in.
At 21 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Cristian David and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Successful dribbles: 20. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Martí Garrido to a room that had heard them before.
Something was said to Diego Aguado and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Real Madrid Castilla people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Real Madrid Castilla they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
9 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Hugo De Llanos and Real Madrid Castilla agree another 5 years.
Marked 7.54 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Real Madrid Castilla had the best player on the pitch.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Real Madrid Castilla people have started saying his name in the past tense.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Real Madrid Castilla is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Add another name to the list: Jablonec have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Jorge Cestero. The answer from Real Madrid Castilla has not changed — yet.
Manu Serrano was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Real Madrid Castilla people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Player ratings18 Jan 2027
Jesús Fortea, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 8.16
A mark of 8.16 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Real Madrid Castilla, and it is not being withdrawn.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Real Madrid Castilla heard it as anything else.
Cristian David was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Jeremy de León has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Jesús Fortea and Real Madrid Castilla agree another 5 years.
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Loren Zúñiga falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Jorge Cestero and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Real Madrid Castilla will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Hugo De Llanos is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 19-year-old it feels ownership of. Jesús Fortea has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Bruno Iglesias and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Loren Zúñiga is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Racing Ferrol? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.