Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Madrid derby, Saul Niguez has opened up about his traumatic experience at Real Madrid as an 11-year-old academy player.
Now playing for Atletico Madrid having come through the ranks, Saul spent one year on the books of city rivals Real, which is not an uncommon path to take.
Raul Gonzalez, for example, was initially with Atletico before moving to Real as a teenager, where he went on to become one of the club’s greatest ever players.
Alas, Saul’s time at Real was spoiled by nasty bullying, which he was the innocent victim of.
“During that year with Madrid I learned many things, I matured a lot. It was a difficult year, because many non-sporting things were happening,” he said.
“They robbed my boots, food. They stopped me from going to Valdebebas for two weeks for things I’d not done. They passed a letter to the manager saying I had written it. I said I’d not done it because I really had not done it.”
Saul’s revelations reveal the darker side of youth dynamics, be it in school, a football academy, wherever.
And in the current climate of youngsters moving country for big money, this could serve as a caveat for parents, who may think better than sending their kids away to a foreign club at such a young age.
Happily, this traumatic experience didn’t break Saul; on the contrary, it helped make him stronger and develop into the player he is today.
Saul was touted as a serious target for Manchester United in the last January window, but in the end nothing concrete ever materialized.
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