Raul Asencio first emerged during the 2024/25 season as a potential future superstar at the center back position for Real Madrid, shining at a young age in a season in which many Madridistas thought Joan Martinez, who was compared to Sergio Ramos by some within the youth ranks, would be the defensive breakout from Castilla. But Martinez's ACL tear before the season started yielded an opportunity for Raul, who eventually became the main starter next to Antonio Rudiger after Eder Militao's second ACL tear of his own.
Nowadays, though, Raul is the fourth option when everyone is healthy. The 23 year old center back is very clearly behind Eder Militao, Antonio Rudiger, and Dean Huijsen in the pecking order, and you may even find some Madridistas who believe a fully fit David Alaba is still better than Asencio.
The problem with Asencio is while he has great physicality and can be ferocious in the tackle, his discipline and reliability are even lower than that of Antonio Rudiger. There is also nothing special abot him. He is not especially fast, astute, calm, or great on the ball. He is average in most ways and a rotational player who has suddenly earned a very wrong reputation at the club.
Raul Asencio is in trouble
MARCA have detailed an account of Raul Asencio's behavior that upset not only manager Alvaro Arbeloa, who rarely goes against his players, but also veteran center back Rudiger. Per MARCA, Raul was upset with Arbeloa about not starting against Manchester City, and when he was asked to start against Elche, he turned up at the last second injured, though it sounds like Real doubted his injury. He was supposed to play the game against Elche so that Rudiger could rest, but because of the incident, Rudiger was forced to play.
Arbeloa then punished Raul by freezing him out of the lineup for multiple matchups. Although the young Spanish cener back apologized to his coach, Arbeloa wanted him to actually apologize to the entire team, and until he finally did, the manager did not call his defender up again.
While Asencio did eventually apologize and patch things up, it sounds like the players and coaches at Real Madrid do not trust him. After that incident, they may be looking sideways at Raul for neglecting his duties when expected to start. And the disciplinary issues off the pitch can be seen on the pitch, too. Asencio is not playing at a high level, he is regressing, if anything. There has been no growth from last season, and he does not have the aptitude, physical, or technical skills of a Real Madrid starter. With Huijsen growing, Rudiger set to re-sign, and another center back or even two on the way, Raul is in trouble, especially with Martinez and Jacobo Ramon from Como as younger options.