Real Madrid: The five players who should never have been sold in the last 10 years
By Parshva Shah
Honorary Mentions
Raúl (1994-2010)
A product of La Fabrica, Raúl will go down as one of the greatest and most important players in the history of Real Madrid. He holds the record for the most appearances (741 in 16 seasons) and the second-highest number of goals at 323, second only to Cristiano Ronaldo.
Making his debut at just 17 years of age, he holds the record for being the youngest player to score a UEFA Champions League hat-trick.
Having spent 16 seasons with the club, Raúl should have been allowed to retire at Real Madrid rather than being sold to Schalke 04 at the end of the 2009-10 season.
On the bright side, he is currently the coach of Real Madrid Castilla and is a probable candidate to manage the first team someday in the future.
Iker Casillas (1999-2015)
Another player who rose through the Real Madrid ranks, Iker Casillas will go down in history as the greatest Real Madrid goalkeeper ever.
He was heroic in the 2000 Champions League final, becoming the youngest goalkeeper to play in a Champions League Final at just 19 years and four days of age. He became the first-choice goalkeeper in no time and saved the day by his goalkeeping extravagance.
Casillas fell just 17 games shy of Raúl’s record 741 appearances. He was the face of the club during his tenure and is a through and through Madridista. Even though his performances saw a dip towards the back end of his career, he shouldn’t have been sold to Porto.
Keylor Navas (2014-2019)
The Costa Rican was at the club for only five seasons, yet he started between the posts in the UEFA Champions League three-peat. With him as the starting goalkeeper, Real Madrid never faced elimination from the competition and a lot of it can be attributed to Navas’ astute goalkeeping.
He had a lot to offer Real Madrid, but Thibaut Courtois’ signing meant Navas was sidelined and eventually sold by Zinedine Zidane, to whom Navas had been a very loyal player.
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He appeared 162 times for the club, winning 12 titles. His sale to French club Paris Saint-Germain didn’t go down too well with the Madridistas, as Navas had managed to create room for himself inside every fan’s heart.
I myself miss him sometimes.