15 years after Cristiano Ronaldo’s debut at Real Madrid: Who were his teammates and where are they now?
It’s been fifteen years since the Portuguese scored a goal in his debut for Real Madrid against Deportivo. The rest was a story to never forget.
Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the greatest players of all time, joined Real Madrid in 2009 from Manchester United for £80 million, a record transfer at the time. The Portuguese superstar went on to play nine seasons at the Santiago Bernabéu and break multiple records.
He won two La Liga titles and four Champions League trophies during his time at Real Madrid and became the Madrid club’s all-time top scorer with 450 goals in 438 appearances.
CR7 made his debut for the Merengues on 29 August 2009, in the opening match of the Spanish league against Deportivo La Coruña. That was exactly 15 years ago. It was a dream debut for the Portuguese, as he scored a goal from the penalty spot and the team started their campaign on the right foot thanks to a 3-2 victory. The other scorers were Raúl González and Lassana Diarra.
To remember that dream day for Cristiano, The Informant247 takes a look at the players who played alongside Ronaldo in his first game for Real Madrid and where they are now.
Iker Casillas
The second Real Madrid player with the most appearances (725) after Raul Gonzalez and former club captain. Iker Casillas left the Spanish club in 2016 and joined Porto. He is one of the greatest and most decorated footballers of all time in the history of Los Blancos.
Every May 1st is marked in red on Iker’s life calendar. On that unfortunate day, in 2019, the goalkeeper suffered a heart attack while training with his then-team, Porto FC. “I remember falling to the ground, trying to get that oxygen supply that wasn’t coming… Until the doctor arrives and tells you that you’re having a heart attack,” Casillas recalled some time ago during an interview.
A world champion, he retired from professional football in August 2020 and returned to Real Madrid in December as deputy to the general director of the Real Madrid Foundation.
Marcelo
The Brazilian full-back joined Real Madrid in 2007 and has been playing for the club until the 2022-23 season. He won all the major trophies at the club multiple times and ahead of the 2021-22 season, he was named the club captain after Sergio Ramos left the team for PSG.
On February 22, 2023, his signing for Fluminense, the team where he began his career and from which he made the jump to play for Madrid, became official. In 2023, Marcelo would win the Copa Libertadores with Fluminense against Boca Juniors, thus achieving that first continental title for both him and the club.
Raul Albiol
The former Spanish international defender played for Real Madrid for four seasons between 2009 and 2013, after which he signed for Napoli. In 2019, he moved to another La Liga club, Villarreal, with whom he won the Europa League by beating Manchester United in the final. He remains an important part of the Yellow Submarine.
Ezequiel Garay
The former Argentina international played for Real Madrid for two seasons (2009-2011) where he won a Copa del Rey title. Later in his career, he played for clubs such as Benfica, Zenit St. Petersburg, and Valencia. He announced his retirement in July 2021.
Garay announced his surprise retirement at the age of 34, an age at which many players who play in the same position are still going strong: “I was in extreme pain and sometimes couldn’t even walk. I had to take repeated injections to be able to compete. I only had one goal: to enjoy my passion and bring joy.”
In 2022, Garay also separated from Tamara Gorro after eight years of marriage and two children. In that context, he undertook a curious challenge that has his ex-partner as a colleague: he took charge of various real estate businesses and, currently, he usually promotes the construction of luxury homes. The initiative brought him millionaire profits.
Alvaro Arbeloa
A youth product of Real Madrid, he joined the first team in 2009 after playing for Deportivo La Coruña and Liverpool. In the seven seasons he spent in the Spanish capital, Álvaro Arbeloa won one La Liga, two Copa del Reys, and two Champions Leagues.
After leaving Real Madrid in 2016, Arbeola spent one season at West Ham United before announcing his retirement in 2017. The former Spain international was appointed manager of Real Madrid’s Under-14s in 2020. Three years ago, the former Spain defender was rumored to be joining Carlo Ancelotti’s coaching staff but ultimately stayed on as manager of the Cadete A side. Now 41, he is currently the manager of Real Madrid’s Juvenil A side.
Xabi Alonso
The former Spanish international joined Real Madrid from Liverpool in 2009. He spent five seasons at the club where he won a La Liga and a Champions League. In 2014, Xabi Alonso joined Bayern Munich and retired from professional football after three years.
In 2018 he returned to Real Madrid to manage the club’s under-14 team. In 2019 he became the coach of Real Sociedad’s B team, but made the jump to the Bundesliga by signing for Bayer Leverkusen, with whom he had a dream season in 2023-24, winning the first Bundesliga in the club’s history, as well as a German Cup and reaching the Europa League final.
Many are considering him as a possible replacement for Ancelotti at Madrid in the not-too-distant future. Even the Liverpool dugout has been mentioned in recent years as a possible destination for the former Spanish international.
Lassana Diarra
The French midfielder played for Real Madrid for three seasons (2009-2012) where he won a La Liga title and a Copa del Rey. Apart from the Spanish team, he played for clubs such as Chelsea, Arsenal, Portsmouth, and Marseille. He retired in 2019 after spending a season at PSG.
His departure from Real Madrid came after losing his place under Mourinho. Russia (Anzhi and Lokomotiv) and the United Arab Emirates (Al-Jazira) became his next destinations. During those years he went through two curious and regrettable episodes with Islamic culture. First, he was mistaken by the British press for an ISIS soldier in a video. This was an unprecedented situation, which caused a total shock and led to the point that the footballer himself and his legal team had to clarify that he had never had any relationship with the terrorist group nor had he ever visited Syria.
After that, a close relative died, a victim of the jihadist attacks that occurred outside the Saint-Denis stadium, during a friendly match between France and Germany. This happened in a match in which he played.
After retiring from football after winning the French League Cup and Super Cup with PSG, Lassana Diarra made way for his new life as an entrepreneur. The Frenchman remained linked to sport and created his brand of energy drinks: Heroic Sport. His isotonic drinks became popular in France and he even signed an agreement with the NBA to become the official soft drink of the competition in a multi-year, multi-million-dollar contract. “We greatly respect the NBA, with which we share the values of well-being, passion for sport, and competitiveness. We share the same vision and through this agreement, we are further expanding our ambitions in the market,” said Lass Diarra himself in 2017, when this partnership was announced.
Kaka
The Brazilian midfielder joined Real Madrid in 2009 and spent four seasons at the club. The former Ballon d’Or winner did not enjoy a very successful spell at the Spanish side due to multiple injuries. In 2013, he returned to his former club AC Milan, and then in 2014 he signed for Orlando City in the United States. His retirement from professional football came in 2017.
Kaka has completed a degree in Sports Marketing and has several investments in property and vehicles. His net worth is estimated at around $90 million, according to financial sources, and he divides his life between Brazil, the United States, and Italy, countries where he has multiple business interests.
Concerning football, Kaká is usually one of the legends who frequently participates in charity matches, as he uses his image in every noble cause that is proposed to him. He also recently confessed that he had been offered to be part of Carlo Ancelotti’s coaching staff in Brazil, the coach who directed him in Milan, but that came to nothing when the Italian renewed his contract with Real Madrid.
Raul Gonzalez
The legendary Spanish striker is the Real Madrid player with the most appearances (741) of all time. After spending 16 seasons at the club since 1995, he left in 2010. He subsequently joined Schalke and then finished his MLS career playing for the New York Cosmos.
Following his retirement, Raúl returned to Real Madrid in 2018 as coach of the club’s Under-15s. A year later he became coach of Real Madrid Castilla (First Federation), where he remains.
Karim Benzema
A product of the Olympique Lyon youth system, the forward joined Real Madrid in 2009 after spending five seasons at the French club. Benzema has won four Champions League titles and three La Liga titles, among many other trophies as a Merengue. He is also one of the top scorers in the capital’s history and the foreigner with the most appearances for the club (648). He left Bernabéu for Saudi Arabia in the summer of 2023 and remains in that Asian country playing for Al-Ittihad Jeddah.
CRISTIANO RONALDO
The Portuguese superstar spent nine seasons at Real Madrid since joining them in 2009. In 2018 he moved to Juventus and for the 2021-22 season, he decided to return to Manchester United, where he did not have a great second spell and ended up leaving for Saudi Arabia, where he continues to score goals for Al Nassr. In 438 games for Real Madrid, he scored 450 goals and is the club’s all-time top scorer. Living history of this sport.
Guti – Substitute
The former Spanish international played for Real Madrid for 15 years (1995-2010). In his last year as a professional footballer, he joined Turkish side Besiktas. He retired in 2011.
In 2013, he returned to Real Madrid as coach of the club’s youth team for two seasons. In 2018, he joined Besiktas as an assistant coach. The following season he was appointed coach of Segunda División club Almería, where he worked for one season. He left the club in 2020.
He now works as a panelist on Jugones’ ‘El Chiringuito’.
Gonzalo Higuain – Substitute
The Argentine striker signed for Real Madrid in 2007 and played for the team for six seasons. Later in his career, he pulled on the shirts of clubs such as Napoli, Juventus, AC Milan, and Chelsea. He joined MLS side Inter Miami in 2020 and hung up his boots in 2022.
Today he continues to live in Miami, far from the flashes of football, the whirlwind and criticism of social networks and the media, and living happily with Lara and Alma, his partner and daughter respectively. ‘El Pipita’ found a new passion in sport: every week he goes to the Miramar Club to play paddle tennis.
Although the sport became fashionable a few years ago in the state of Florida, Higuaín was not allowed to play it due to a clause in his contract with Inter Miami. There he can live a normal life, as if he were just another player, far from insults, memes, and mockery.
Esteban Granero – Substitute
A product of the Real Madrid youth system, the Spanish midfielder played for Getafe and in 2009 returned to the white team where he remained for three seasons.
Apart from the Spanish giants, he played for QPR, Real Sociedad, Espanyol, and Marbella. He announced his retirement from football in July 2021 and is currently CEO of Marbella FC. He is also the founder and CEO of Olocip, an artificial intelligence company specializing in sports.
