Real Madrid confirm Rafa Marin’s loan move to Alaves

Real Madrid have confirmed that they have sent Rafa Marin on a season-long loan to Deportivo Alaves. 

The 21-year-old is one of the most promising players to have emerged from the club’s youth academy. 

He joined Real from Sevilla in 2016 and has shown enormous progress in the last few years. 

The young defender is yet to make his competitive debut at Santiago Bernabeu but he has greatly impressed with his performances for the club’s reserve team Castilla. 

He has made 69 appearances across all competitions for the reserve side, with four goals to his name. 

Marin’s contract was set to expire in 2024 but Los Blancos recently tied him down to a new deal until 2026, per The Athletic. 

The 21-year-old has a lot of potential and he looks to have a very bright future ahead of him. 

He mainly plays in central defence but can also be deployed as a left-back. 

The Spaniard’s amazing development sparked an interest from Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Juventus (per SPORT), but Real decided to keep him at Santiago Bernabeu. 

He has now joined Alaves on a season-long loan deal, hoping to gain some first-team experience at the Basque Country side. 

El Glorioso suffered relegation from La Liga at the end of the 2021-22 season. But they sealed an immediate return to the Spanish top-flight after beating Levante in the promotion play-offs final in June.