Real Madrid confirmed on Monday that Dani Carvajal will leave the club at the end of the season, closing a 12-year spell and 27-trophy career at the Santiago Bernabéu.
The Spanish club released an official statement on May 18 acknowledging the departure of the 34-year-old defender, who made 450 appearances for the club across all competitions. Carvajal’s trophy haul at Madrid includes six Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League titles and four La Liga crowns, a record that places him among the most decorated players in the club’s history.
Club president Florentino Pérez paid tribute to the outgoing defender, stating: “Carvajal is a legend and a symbol of Real Madrid and its academy.”
Carvajal came through Real Madrid’s La Fábrica youth academy before leaving for Bayer Leverkusen in 2012. Madrid brought him back the following year, and he spent more than a decade establishing himself as one of the club’s most dependable and celebrated figures at right back.
His final campaign has been disrupted by injury, however, and Spanish media reports suggest national team coach Luis de la Fuente is unlikely to include him in Spain’s squad for this summer’s Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup, a tournament Carvajal had reportedly hoped to attend.
The defender is expected to play his last match for the club this weekend against Athletic Bilbao at the Bernabéu in La Liga. His exit marks a sombre chapter for Real Madrid, who are set to finish a second successive season without winning a major trophy, compounding an already difficult year for the club.
