“Invisible” club legend – Nacho could leave Real Madrid as a record holder

There have always been, and always will be, unsung heroes, piano players who don’t get enough limelight, even though success belongs to them just as much as to the biggest stars. Football players classified in this caste usually decide to switch, to go to a team where they are treated as the number one player, or to sign somewhere else just to get better. However, the Real Madrid defender, Nacho Fernández, remained with his beloved foster club as another, eternal replacement, as a multiple option, with which he accumulated success after success, which he helped, if needed, both on and off the field, and only now, at the age of 34, he decided to that it is time to leave. He does it all in such a way that if Real Madrid becomes the Spanish champion (with an 11-point advantage, this can practically be taken as cash), then Marcelo will become the player with the most trophies in the club’s history at the end of the season, setting Marcelo’s record, and the team will also be in the Champions League. Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves…

THE ETERNAL SUBSTITUTE

Nacho joined Real Madrid’s academy in 2007, then went through the U18 and U19 teams to become a Castilla player. He made his first appearance in the senior team in the 2010-2011 season, when he won a total of two championships, only to play in one King’s Cup match among the best in the following season. After that, he was promoted to Real Madrid, but he was still considered to be in the second division, he was only allowed to play in nine league games in La Liga. The breakthrough came for him in the 2013-2014 season, at the age of 24, when he represented his team in 19 competitive matches, and at the end of the season he was able to celebrate the then long-awaited Champions League victory with his teammates – he had three matches in the series, but the two he was not named in the squad for the semi-finals and the final.

In the coming years, he played an increasingly important role in the team, but he was never counted on as a clear first option, a starter, or a star player. If someone was expected to miss a longer time, he jumped into his place in the defense and performed reliably, consistently and well. Nacho wasn’t outstanding in anything, but he brought a level that could not be complained about in all aspects of the game. He is considered a dueling player who regularly improves his positional deficiencies with tackles. Although he was originally a right-sided inner defender, this never mattered to him, he played a lot as a right-back, left-back or on the left side of the axis of defense, wherever he could be deployed when needed, he was the Swiss army knife of Madrid.

His status as a substitute is perfectly demonstrated by the fact that during his career so far, he has had seven La Liga seasons in which he has played in at least 20 league games, but in total he has exceeded 2,000 playing minutes twice (this means about 60 minutes/match), but not by much. Nacho played the most for Real Madrid in the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 seasons, when taking all series into account, he reached over 3,000 playing minutes in both seasons, but he was not considered a regular player in the Champions League, in fact. In the finals against Atlético Madrid in 2016, against Juventus in 2017 and against Liverpool in 2022, he did not spend a single minute on the pitch. He only played in the 2018 Champions League final, when he played more than 50 minutes on the right side of the defense due to Dani Carvajal’s injury. Nevertheless, he still has 5 Champions League titles and 67 matches in the elite series to his name – many would accept it.

THE MOST SUCCESSFUL IN CLUB HISTORY?

Second, third option or replacement, it doesn’t matter, over the years, Florentino Pérez always put more and more contract extension proposals on his table, and he accepted them, he didn’t want to go elsewhere. In retrospect, it’s unnecessary to think about what would have happened if… But we can be sure that Nacho would have been a regular player, a number one star at several Spanish or even foreign clubs, but he chose to go with Madrid every single time. In a previous statement, he said that he would like to win something with the team as captain, and he will certainly not leave before that. Well, this year he was given that too.

At the beginning of 2024, as team captain, Nacho led Real Madrid to a 4-1 victory against FC Barcelona in the El Clasico, the Spanish Super Cup final, and was able to lift the cup high. “Dreams come true! This cup is special for me, as it is not the first, but the first as captain of Real Madrid” he said after the success in Riyadh. Three months have passed since then, and the Madrid team won another classic against Barca (3-2) just this weekend, after Nacho’s well-known announcement. They already have an 11-point advantage at the top of the table with six rounds to go, so another league title is very close. The 24-time Spanish national team defender already announced that he will leave his club at the end of the season after reaching the Champions League against Manchester City.

If Real Madrid win the title, it will be Nacho’s 25th trophy with the club, and he could equal Marcelo’s club record. However, that is not all, as in the BL, only three games separate the Spanish capital from another success. If he has that, he can leave the world’s most successful club as the only club record holder – not exactly a substitute. During his Madrid career, Nacho won 5 CLs, 5 Club World Cups, 4 European Super Cups, 3 Spanish league titles, 2 King’s Cups and 5 Spanish Super Cups.

WHAT’S NEXT?

The only question is where the 34-year-old defensive all-rounder will go after Madrid. It is almost impossible that he will change within Spain, since then he would regularly clash with his former club, but then where will his journey take him? Well, according to the latest press reports, he has ruled out Saudi Arabia and America, his destination could be Italy, including the recent champion Inter, which is famous for its desire to acquire experienced, reliable players with a European routine for free…