Alexis Ciria, Real Madrid’s new diamond: “There are very few like him”

First, a rabona. Then a dribble to launch the move and a nutmeg on the goalkeeper to finish.

Pandemonium at Valdebebas. A ticket to the next round of the Copa del Rey for Real Madrid’s Juvenil A. A path cleared towards the quarterfinals, against Betis on Wednesday the 11th. With Mallorca entrenched in defence, he was the spark behind the assault. Alexis Ciria debuted in white in the 59th minute. In the 103rd, he scored. A dream debut that defines him. So does his eye for goal. So does the rabona. “He’s pure audacity,” they say simply inside the club. No surprise, but admiration all the same. For an express adaptation that saw him arrive, debut and score. His name isn’t César, it’s Alexis. And he’s the new diamond of La Fábrica.

A diamond Álvaro López is now shaping with the Juvenil A. He debuted in the Youth League against Marseille and started the match. It was a side reinforced with Castilla players: Fortea, Joan, Valde, Rivas, Aguado, Cestero, Thiago, Yáñez. All bound for the reserves. All starters. Just like him. A measure of the expectation surrounding him. The roadmap already points towards Real Madrid C, a step that doesn’t seem far away. He’ll be there soon. Castilla isn’t ruled out either, although the plan is for him to join the reserves next season. Everything depends on performance, of course, but there’s confidence that performance will be his guarantee.

He was a standout at Sevilla. One of the academy’s brightest prospects, paired there with Nico Guillén. The scale of his potential is reflected in the expectations that followed him. Just past 16, he trained with the first team. At 18, he was viewed as a future first-team player. Perhaps not immediately, given his limited impact with the reserves, no goals in 438 minutes, but as a medium-term project starting the following season. A gradual integration, especially at a club crying out for inspiration. And the greatest inspiration tends to come from within the academy. The problem was that renewal talks stalled. Then Real Madrid returned, and this time with force.

It wasn’t their first attempt. His arrival had been explored years earlier, but neither Ciria nor his entourage were convinced. This time they were. The financial terms were better than Sevilla’s. The sporting project appealed, even if it meant starting in the División de Honor after Primera RFEF football with Sevilla Atlético. And he had always liked Real Madrid. The young winger is a Madrid fan, and the move brought him closer to childhood dreams. At Valdebebas they had been working with glowing reports for some time, nurturing a seed they had planted long ago, until the signing finally materialised.

“There are few like him,” comes from inside the club. They mean audacious, different, creative wingers, players who escape rigid systems. A dribbler capable of breaking defensive structures. Comparisons are drawn with Yáñez, Gabri Valero, Adri Pérez and the newcomer Iker Doblas. And they insist: “If anything defines him, it’s that debut.” The rabona. The finish inside the box. Finding cracks in a Mallorca side that until then had been rock solid. “Even his celebration defines him.” The collective embrace was joy for the result and the likely qualification, but also for the player. Despite his short time at La Fábrica, and although he already knew many teammates from Spain U18 call-ups, he has made a powerful first impression. “He’s a real joker, approachable. He’s settled into the dressing room very quickly.”

He’s mature for his age. His uncle, Joaqui Flores, a winger who retired in 2020, has been a key source of support and advice. Joaqui is a legend of the old Segunda B and once shared a dressing room at Alcalá with Joselu Sánchez, formerly of Real Madrid C and now assistant coach with the Juvenil A. The connections don’t end there. While his uncle guides him now, not long ago he was also receiving advice from Julián López de Lerma’s father, not the Castilla coach himself, but the man who shaped his early steps.

Like the reserve coach, Alexis is from Badajoz. He developed at Flecha Negra in his hometown, a historic and highly respected academy. It’s part of the same lineage as López de Lerma Sr., who helped shape not only Alexis but also talents such as Assane Diao before his move to Betis, as he has explained in interviews. An Extremadura thread running through La Fábrica. That’s Alexis Ciria: a sharp-eyed winger and a player in whom Valdebebas places enormous faith.