Real Madrid are going into the season with three potential options at right-back and Vinicius Tobias will be pushing to make the jump from Castilla, registration rules not withstanding. Yet there is no doubt that Dani Carvajal will be the starter as long as he is fit, as has been the case for all of his Real Madrid career.
This summer marks two decades since Carvajal arrived at the club from Leganes as a 10-year-old, as noted by Diario AS. Making his way through the ranks at Real Madrid, a solitary season away from Madrid at Bayer Leverkusen broke his continuity in Spain, but was enough to persuade Los Blancos to buy him back after just one campaign.
Carvajal has since made 329 appearances for Real Madrid and is one of only three players, the other two being Karim Benzema and Luka Modric, to have started all five of Real Madrid’s Champions League triumphs over the last decade.
Following the departure of Marcelo this summer, Carvajal will also become the fourth captain at the club, with Benzema, Modric and Nacho Fernandez.
Due to injuries hampering recent years, Carvajal perhaps does not get the appreciation he deserves. When he is firing on all cylinders, few full-backs can match his defensive prowess and tenacity.
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