Inside Castilla’s Pre-Season: Changes, Challenges and Opportunities

How has Arbeloa’s start to life at Castilla been?

Real Madrid Castilla are beginning preparations for the new 2025/26 season in a state of drastic transformation. Raúl González, after six years in charge, has departed. Álvaro Arbeloa, the former La Fábrica graduate and successful Real Madrid first team player has been handed the keys, after coaching in the academy for the past five years. It has not even been two weeks yet, but it feels like so much has happened. Let’s take a look at Castilla’s pre-season so far:

New Coaches

A point of interest, but not necessarily importance: Álvaro Arbeloa is the first Castilla manager active on social media. He interacts with players, shares thoughts and posts photos and updates. I’m intrigued to see whether this may have any influence over proceedings on the pitch, positive or negative. Arbeloa is not the only new coach in the mixing bowl. He brings an entirely new backroom team in to support his vision. Julián Carmona follows him from the academy as assistant manager, while Francis Sánchez comes in as a supporting coach. Ricardo Da Silva will lead the fitness provision, but the media are only interested in one hire. Diego López, the former Real Madrid goalkeeper, has been recruited to oversee the training and development of the young keepers in the squad. After the club has failed to produce anything in this department for over a decade, this would perhaps be a more exciting acquisition if he had signed on to play… Still – a solid group of coaches moving forwards. This manager has absolutely huge boots to fill, so he will be looking to make an immediate impact.

New Players

Castilla’s squad is once again built almost entirely from within. Several promising names have been promoted from the academy, with a chunk also coming in from the C team:

Promoted from the Academy:

• Jesús Fortea (RB)
• Joan Martínez (CB)
• Diego Aguado (CB)
• Víctor Valdepeñas (CB)
• Antonio David (DM)
• Jorge Cestero (CM)
• Daniel Yáñez (Winger)

Promoted from the C Team:

• Sergio Mestre (GK)
• Gullie Súnico (GK)
• Manu Serrano (LB)
• Bruno Iglesias (CAM)

Bruno Iglesias is the only listed player who does not have an easily identified place in the squad. Four players so far from a C team that was almost relegated to the fifth tier of Spanish is also not ideal, but the academy promotions on the whole look stronger than last year’s cohort. Whilst the three goalkeepers are collectively at the lowest level I have seen, as long as Fran is starting most games that shouldn’t matter much. The squad is still lacking at left-back, a midfielder and a winger.

Transfer In:

Financial investment has been the biggest break through of the summer, and a big vote of confidence in Arbeloa. The club has spent €900,000 on Almeria striker Rachad Fettal. The Moroccan has made his La Liga debut, and played and handful of games at second division level, but eerily similar to Loren Zúñiga – does not boast a good goalscoring record. I expect them to be at a very similar level, but the new found competition will hopefully spur them both on to strive for better.

The club almost had two more Moroccan talents on board, but this story has turned into quite the mess… Brothers Abdellah (16, CM) and Zakaria (18, ST) Ouazane had verbally agreed to join the club from Ajax, and were set to sign the dotted line when Abdellah reportedly failed his medical (or encountered internal complications) after arriving in Madrid. The deal fell through at the final moment with Real Madrid opting against the move(s), and neither brother joined the club. The players have since returned to the Netherlands, undergone fresh tests, and shown no health concerns. Real Madrid are reportedly reviewing the data and their decision, so it is worth keeping an eye on the situation. It may not have affect on the reserve side at all, as neither player was likely to even feature for Castilla, despite both being talented enough to do so.

This saga emphasizes one of Castilla’s longstanding paradoxes: desired world-class youth recruitment balanced against the club’s conservative internal structure. Should a 16 year old be playing senior, professional football? Real Madrid don’t often think so.

Outgoing Players

The end of 2024/25 marked the departure of several long-serving or high-profile Castilla players:

Confirmed Departures:

• Mario De Luis (GK) – Atlético Madrid B
• Raúl Asencio (CB) – Real Madrid
• Jacobo Ramón (CB) – Como, Serie A (TBC*)
• Edgar Pujol (CB) – Racing Ferrol, third division
• David Ruiz (LB) – Eldense, third division
• Youssef Enríquez (LB) – Alavés, La Liga
• Andrés Campos (LW) – Leganés, second division
• Gonzalo García (RW) – Real Madrid
• Víctor Muñoz (LW) – Osasuna, La Liga

The majority of these moves are near-perfect, and have been sorted very quickly and efficiently. Everyone got what they deserved, or more. Jacobo Ramón, Gonzalo García, Víctor Muñoz get a deserved crack at the top level – and have brought in millions in the process. Edgar Pujol secured the right move for him after a disappointing Castilla tenure. Andrés Campos and David Ruiz have overachieved which is never a bad thing. The only disappointing move from a Castilla point of view was that of Youssef Enríquez to Alavés. He brought in a very generous amount of money, and if he starts, then no arguments whatsoever. However, after just one season – it did not feel like his time. The average tenure at Castilla is two seasons, and whilst he was the most consistent defender last year, if he built on that with Castilla this season – then starting for Alaves in La Liga would have been the least of his aspirations for 2026/27. The biggest problem is that it leaves Castilla with no adequate left-back. Manu Serrano has been promoted from the C team, and both Diego Aguado and Víctor Valdepeñas can (and probably will) play there – but Real Madrid really need to look to the market for a replacement, and fast. It is unlikely that they will, though.

Still Expected to Leave:

• Diego Piñeiro (GK)
• Lorenzo Aguado (RB)
• Kike Ribes (CB)
• David Cuenca (CB)
• Borja Alonso (Winger)

Uncertain Futures:

• Jeremy de León
• Chema Andrés

Castilla would benefit hugely from keeping both of these players, and I think Chema may well stay – mainly because the team would be in so much trouble if he were to leave. Jeremy clearly is not, and never has been favoured by any of the coaches at Real Madrid, but with the departures so far he is now the best winger the team has. Decisions remain in limbo, but fingers are certainly crossed.

Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images

Squad planning is going reasonably well so far. Nearly every player tipped to depart has now found a new club, with just four or five remaining. Only one move so far appears harmful to the team (Yusi), with rumours cooling down on the likes of Chema and Jeremy. The team should however still be looking to the market for a left-back, a midfielder and a winger (or two). Replacing the goals of Gonzalo García and Víctor Muñoz will be one of the biggest challenges, and I fear they have not yet done this. Things must be looking up though, as the squad needed a minimum of ten new signings to achieve promotion last year (they got none), and this summer it looks more like five. Despite the increase in funding and interest, it remains a doubt that Castilla will sign any more players in the month or so before the season starts. The roster so far (and potential formation/line-up) can be seen below.

New Competitions

The biggest, and most exciting news all summer is that for the first time since their Copa del Rey exclusion in 1990, Castilla will compete in two official competitions in 2025/26. They’ve reportedly accepted an invitation to join the Premier League International Cup, a under-23’s tournament hosted in England that will include the U-23 and ‘B’ teams for 16 English clubs and 16 European teams (yet to be confirmed). Group and knockout stages take place throughout the season. It’s a historic opportunity for Castilla’s young players to test themselves against other huge clubs and academies, and prove their level in a more internationally visible setting.

Pre-Season Fixtures

• 26 July – Marbella vs Castilla
• 2 August – Racing Ferrol vs Castilla
• 8 August – Castilla vs Andorra
• 13 August – Castilla vs Valencia Mestalla
• 17 August – Castilla vs Ibiza
• 22 August – Castilla vs Alcorcón

Fixtures commence this Saturday with an early showdown against Marbella. Expect both the squad and line-up to look messy, with a large number of players competing for their place and trying to impress or change the managers mind. As the games go on, things will look more and more refined until the roster is finalised for the season start. Castilla will begin their league campaign against CD Lugo in Group 1 of the Primera Federación on the 31st of August. After the final pre-season game against Alcorcón, MangingMadrid will release a season preview, looking over the squad, opposition, and providing a prediction for how things may turn out. For now, lets see how the summer pans out with over a month to go.