Goodbye Carvajal: the end of an era Madrid will take decades to forget

Thirteen years. One hundred and fifty-one fewer goals conceded than expected. 6 Champions Leagues, 4 La Liga titles, 2 Copa del Rey trophies, 5 UEFA Super Cups and a total of 27 titles. Dani Carvajal is leaving Real Madrid and, with him, goes a way of understanding the right-back position that will take years to replicate.

But before the Bernabéu, Carvajal was a lad from Leganés who came through Madrid's academy, was loaned to Bayer Leverkusen to toughen up in the Bundesliga, and returned in 2013 never to leave again. With the Spanish national team, the story is equally epic: he was runner-up at the U-20 World Cup, won the U-19 Euros in 2011 and the U-21 Euros in 2013. With the senior side, he won the Nations League in 2023 and the Euro 2024 —where he scored against Croatia on matchday one and won the final against England.

Football's final blow: Carvajal won't be going to the 2026 World Cup. He missed the cut from Luis de la Fuente's 55-player shortlist. Three injuries this season —including a cruciate ligament rupture in October 2024— left him without the necessary match fitness. Just 885 minutes across 20 games. The maths doesn't lie.

The World Cup was the only thing missing. He won almost everything. He played almost everything. And football, which has a particularly sadistic sense of humour, shuts the door on him in the final chapter. Saturday at the Bernabéu, against Athletic Club, will be his last match in white. Get your tissues ready. Or don't. But you'll be thinking about him anyway.

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