Esteban Granero

ESTEBAN GRANERO(MF)

Real Madrid

Granero joined ranks of Real Madrid when he was just eight years old, and quickly began displaying his footballing talent. In one season, he scored 83 goals in the Under-10 division, and in 1999, captained the Under-12 B team that won the International Football-7 tournament held in the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona by defeating FC Barcelona 1–0 with his extra time goal. He was also named the best player of the competition.

Granero, alongside teammates Juan Mata and Alberto Bueno, won the Copa de Campeones Juvenil de Fútbol in 2006, an under-19 official youth tournament in Spain organized by the Royal Spanish Football Federation. He then joined the club's C squad, at the age of 17, standing out for his talent and passing skills, and going on to receive the Números 1 Don Balón award as the "Most Valuable Player" of the fourth division Group 7 in 2005–06, an accolade bestowed by Don Balón magazine,one of the founding members of European Sports Magazines. That same season, he made his first appearance with Real Madrid Castilla in a match against Albacete Balompié, during which he had a goal assist.

Return to Real

On 21 July 2009, Real Madrid exercised their buyback option, in a reported €4 million deal, and Granero scored three goals during the pre-season. His first official one came in his first start, the opener in a 3–0 La Liga away success against RCD Espanyol, on 12 September 2009. In his first season, where the Merengues eventually came out empty in silverware, he alternated the bench with starts, with irregular performances.

In the 2010–11 season, after Real Madrid purchased two players in similar positions, Sami Khedira and Mesut Özil, Granero was limited mainly to substitute appearances. On 16 January 2011, he came from the bench to score against UD Almería, in a 1–1 away draw against the bottom-placed team.

Granero's situation became worse in the 2011–12 season, with even Fábio Coentrão - another compatriot of manager José Mourinho who was signed in the off-season, originally as a left wingback - being preferred over him as central midfielder.