La Fábrica
La Fábrica is the name given to the Real Madrid youth teams and player farm system, or "cantera." It is a world-class youth academy that has contributed to Real Madrid's sporting success throughout its history. For instance, in the 1980s, Real Madrid won five consecutive La Liga titles, two consecutive UEFA Cups and reached three consecutive UEFA Champions League semi-finals with a squad composed mostly of players formed at La Fábrica.
La Fábrica is housed in Ciudad Real Madrid, Real Madrid's training facilities located just outside Madrid in Valdebebas. Inaugurated in 2005 after Real Madrid invested €100 million to develop it, Ciudad Real Madrid serves as the training ground for all teams associated with the club, from the fully professional first-team squad, to the under-8 Prebenjamín youth team.
History
In 1942, AD Plus Ultra, a local Madrid club then in the Spanish Third Division, agreed to become Real Madrid's feeder club in return for financial support. In 1972, AD Plus Ultra became Real's official reserve team, known today as Real Madrid Castilla. RM Castilla is the most successful reserve side in the history of Spanish football, having amassed more points in the Spanish Second Division than any other reserve side. In 1980, RM Castilla even reached the final of the Copa del Rey, Spain's premier domestic cup competition, where they lost the title to Real Madrid's first team squad.Similarly, in the 1950s, Real Madrid Aficionados was formed as an amateur competitive team affiliated with Real Madrid. That club eventually became Real Madrid C, and served as Real's second reserve team – after RM Castilla – until the team was disbanded in 2015.
The youth academy system itself was established and developed in the 1950s by former Real Madrid Aficionados player Miguel Malbo under the tutelage of the then-Real Madrid president, Santiago Bernabéu. Malbo went on to serve as Director of La Fábrica for over 50 years. Isidoro San José, former Real Madrid player, La Fábrica alumnus and deputy director at La Fábrica, said of Malbo's legacy at Real Madrid, "In his day, he was one of the people that contributed most to Real Madrid, and to Madrid's cantera."
Since its beginnings in the 1950s, countless players have progressed through the ranks of La Fábrica's youth academy, and some of these graduates have contributed to Real Madrid's formidable sporting success both domestically and internationally. Some periods of success are particularly noteworthy. Between 1955 and 1965, Real Madrid won eight La Liga titles, one Copa del Rey and six UEFA Champions Leagues. A number of La Fábrica graduates contributed to Real's success in these years, including Pedro Casado, Enrique Mateos, Gregorio Benito, Juan Santisteban, Manuel Velázquez, Ramón Grosso, Fernando Serena and Ramón Marsal.
Moreover, in the 1980s Real Madrid won five consecutive La Liga titles, two consecutive UEFA Europa Leagues, and reached three consecutive Champions League semi-finals with a squad composed mostly of players formed at La Fábrica. This fabulous batch of "homegrown" Real Madrid players included Emilio Butragueño, Chendo, Manolo Sanchís, Ricardo Gallego, Míchel, Sebastián Losada, Miguel Pardeza and Rafael Martín Vázquez.
Organization
Real Madrid Castilla is a fully professional team; all other teams at La Fábrica are youth teams including everything from under-19-year-olds to under-8-year-olds. Each youth team competes in a league of its own. Youth players must aspire to progress through the ranks if they wish to eventually debut in Real's first-team squad. La Fábrica has more than 270 youth players spread across all 12 youth teams., considered by some to be the best goalkeeper of his generation and a five-time consecutive winner of FIFA/FIFPro World's Best Goalkeeper Award, is also a La Fábrica graduate.
| Squad | Age | Head Coach | Assistant Coach | League |
| Real Madrid Castilla | – | José Manuel Díaz | Santiago Sánchez | Segunda División B |
| Juvenil A | 16–18 | Daniel Poyatos | Alberto Garrido | División de Honor |
| Juvenil B | 16–18 | Álvaro Benito | Diego Nogales | Liga Nacional |
| Juvenil C | 16–18 | Manuel Fernández | Juan José Vallina | Primera División Autonómica |
| Cadete A | 14–15 | Tristán Celador | Sebastián Parrilla | Primera División Autonómica |
| Cadete B | 14–15 | Raúl González | Abián Perdomo | Primera División Autonómica |
| Infantil A | 12–13 | Xabi Alonso | Javier Morán | División de Honor |
| Infantil B | 12–13 | Juanjo Crespo | Eduardo Díaz | División de Honor |
| Alevín A | 10–11 | Roberto Tomás | David González | Primera División Autonómica |
| Alevín B | 10–11 | José Luis Pleiete | Alberto del Castillo | Primera División Autonómica |
| Benjamín A | 8–9 | Rubén Barrios | Fernando Jiménez | Preferente |
| Benjamín B | 8–9 | Víctor Carvajal | Enrique Jiménez | Preferente |
| Prebenjamín | 6–7 | Juan Carlos Juárez | Alberto Borreguero | Fútbol 7 |
Notable alumni
Below is a sortable list of notable La Fábrica alumni throughout history. The information listed below is current as of the 2017–18 football season. Currently active player in Real Madrid may have different title and appearance. Unless explicitly cited, all of the following information was obtained through the Wikipedia pages corresponding to the respective players.| Name | Nationality | Position | Years in La Fábrica | Club Titles Won as Real Madrid player |
| Achraf Hakimi | DF | 2006–2017 | 1 UEFA Champions League, 1 FIFA Club World Cup | |
| Agustín | GK | 1975–1980 | 4 La Liga, 2 Copa del Rey, 2 Supercopa de España, 1 Copa de la Liga, 1 UEFA Cup | |
| Alberto Rivera | MF | 1995–1999 | 2 La Liga | |
| FW | 1986–1992 | 1 La Liga, 1 Copa del Rey, 1 Supercopa de España | ||
| DF | 2001–2006 | 1 La Liga, 2 Copa del Rey, 1 Supercopa de España, 2 UEFA Champions League, 1 UEFA Super Cup, 1 FIFA Club World Cup | ||
| Álvaro Domínguez | DF | 1999–2001 | ||
| MF | 2011–2015 | 1 FIFA Club World Cup | ||
| Álvaro Mejía | DF | 1998–2004 | 1 La Liga | |
| FW | 2008–2013 | 2 La Liga, 2 Copa del Rey, 2 UEFA Champions League, 1 UEFA Super Cup, 1 FIFA Club World Cup | ||
| GK | 1997–2010 | 1 La Liga, 1 Copa del Rey, 1 Supercopa de España | ||
| ' | FW | 2007–2016 | 1 UEFA Champions League, 1 UEFA Super Cup, 1 FIFA Club World Cup | |
| MF | 1995–2007 | |||
| Chendo | DF | 1977–1983 | 7 La Liga, 2 Copa del Rey, 5 Supercopa de España, 1 Copa de la Liga, 1 UEFA Champions League, 2 UEFA Cup, 1 Copa Iberoamericana | |
| ' | DF | 2002–2012 | 1 La Liga, 1 Copa del Rey, 1 Supercopa de España, 4 UEFA Champions League, 3 UEFA Super Cup, 3 FIFA Club World Cup | |
| MF | 2003–2008 | |||
| FW | 2002–2013 | |||
| DF | 2002–2015 | |||
| Diego López | GK | 2000–2005 | 1 La Liga, 1 Copa del Rey, 1 UEFA Champions League | |
| FW | 1981–1984 | 6 La Liga, 2 Copa del Rey, 4 Supercopa de España, 1 Copa de la Liga, 2 UEFA Cup, 1 Copa Iberoamericana | ||
| FW | 1951–1953 | 5 La Liga, 5 UEFA Champions League, 1 Intercontinental Cup | ||
| MF | 1996–1998 | 1 La Liga, 1 Supercopa de España, 1 UEFA Super Cup, 1 Intercontinental Cup | ||
| MF | 1996–2008 | 1 La Liga, 1 Copa del Rey, 1 Supercopa de España | ||
| Fernando | MF | 1998–2000 | ||
| MF | 1953–1961 | 4 La Liga, 1 UEFA Champions League | ||
| Fernando Pacheco | GK | 2006–2014 | 1 UEFA Super Cup, 1 FIFA Club World Cup | |
| DF | 1990–2001 | 1 La Liga, 1 Supercopa de España, 1 UEFA Champions League, 1 UEFA Super Cup, 1 Intercontinental Cup | ||
| Francisco Pineda | FW | 1975–1980 | 1 Copa del Rey, 1 Copa de la Liga, 1 UEFA Cup | |
| DF | 1963–1966 | 6 La Liga, 5 Copa del Rey | ||
| Guti | MF | 1986–1996 | 5 La Liga, 4 Supercopa de España, 3 UEFA Champions League, 1 UEFA Super Cup, 2 Intercontinental Cup | |
| GK | 1990–1999 | 5 La Liga, 2 Copa del Rey, 4 Supercopa de España, 3 UEFA Champions League, 2 UEFA Super Cup, 1 FIFA Club World Cup, 1 Intercontinental Cup | ||
| FW | 1989–1993 | – | ||
| MF | 1996–2007 | 1 La Liga, 1 Supercopa de España | ||
| FW | 1994–2002 | 1 La Liga, 1 Supercopa de España, 1 UEFA Champions League, 1 UEFA Super Cup | ||
| Jesé | FW | 2007–2013 | 1 La Liga, 1 Copa del Rey, 2 UEFA Champions League, 1 FIFA Club World Cup | |
| José Antonio Camacho | DF | 1973–1974 | 9 La Liga, 5 Copa del Rey, 2 Supercopa de España, 1 Copa de la Liga, 2 UEFA Cup | |
| FW | 2002–2008 | 1 La Liga, 1 Supercopa de España | ||
| José Luis Caminero | MF | 1986–1989 | 1 La Liga, 1 Copa del Rey | |
| MF | 1996–2006 | |||
| José María Vidal | MF | 1953–1956 | 2 La Liga, 1 UEFA Champions League, 1 Intercontinental Cup | |
| José María Zárraga | MF | 1949–1951 | 6 La Liga, 1 Copa del Rey, 5 UEFA Champions League, 1 Intercontinental Cup | |
| Juan Manuel Villa | MF | 1953–1960 | 1 UEFA Cup | |
| MF | 2003–2007 | |||
| MF | 1952–1956 | 4 La Liga, 4 UEFA Champions League, 1 Intercontinental Cup | ||
| Juanfran | DF | 2000–2005 | ||
| Kiko Casilla | GK | 2000–2007 | 1 La Liga, 1 Supercopa de España, 3 UEFA Champions League, 2 UEFA Super Cup, 2 FIFA Club World Cup | |
| Lucas Vázquez | FW | 2007–2015 | 1 La Liga, 1 Supercopa de España, 3 UEFA Champions League, 2UEFA Super Cup, 2 FIFA Club World Cup | |
| Luis García | FW | 1996–2003 | ||
| Manolo Sanchís | DF | 1979–1984 | 8 La Liga, 2 Copa del Rey, 5 Supercopa de España, 1 Copa de la Liga, 2 UEFA Champions League, 2 UEFA Cup, 1 Intercontinental Cup, 1 Copa Iberoamericana | |
| MF | 1958–1962 | 6 La Liga, 3 Copa del Rey, 1 UEFA Champions League | ||
| Marcos Alonso | DF | 1999–2010 | ||
| Marcos Alonso Peña | MF | 1970–1977 | 1 La Liga, 1 Copa del Rey, 1 Supercopa de España, 2 Copa de la Liga | |
| MF | 2008–2016 | 1 UEFA Champions League, 1 UEFA Super Cup, 1 FIFA Club World Cup | ||
| Mariano | FW | 2011–2016 | 1 La Liga, 1 UEFA Champions League, 1 UEFA Super Cup, 1 FIFA Club World Cup | |
| GK | 1966–1970 | 6 La Liga, 4 Copa del Rey | ||
| Míchel | MF | 1976–1984 | 6 La Liga, 2 Copa del Rey, 4 Supercopa de España, 1 Copa de la Liga, 2 UEFA Cup, 1 Copa Iberoamericana | |
| FW | 1979–1985 | 1 La Liga | ||
| Miguel Torres | DF | 1998–2007 | 2 La Liga, 1 Supercopa de España | |
| Nacho | DF | 2001–2013 | 1 La Liga, 1 Copa del Rey, 2 Supercopa de España, 4 UEFA Champions League, 3 UEFA Super Cup, 3 FIFA Club World Cup | |
| MF | 2004–2011 | – | ||
| Pedro Casado | DF | 1953–1960 | 6 La Liga, 1 Copa del Rey, 2 UEFA Champions League, 1 Intercontinental Cup | |
| DF | 1973–1981 | |||
| MF | 1980–1983 | 6 La Liga, 2 Copa del Rey, 3 Supercopa de España, 1 Copa de la Liga, 2 UEFA Cup, 1 Copa Iberoamericana | ||
| FW | 1959–1964 | 7 La Liga, 3 Copa del Rey, 1 UEFA Champions League | ||
| FW | 1940–1949 | 4 La Liga, 3 UEFA Champions League | ||
| Raúl | FW | 1992–1994 | 6 La Liga, 4 Supercopa de España, 3 UEFA Champions League, 1 UEFA Super Cup, 2 Intercontinental Cups | |
| DF | 1997–2002 | 2 La Liga, 1 Supercopa de España, 1 UEFA Super Cup, 1 UEFA Champions League | ||
| MF | 1973–1980 | 4 La Liga, 2 Copa del Rey, 1 Supercopa de España, 1 Copa de la Liga, 2 UEFA Cup | ||
| MF | 1999–2007 | 1 La Liga, 1 Supercopa de España | ||
| FW | 2000–2006 | 1 La Liga | ||
| Rodrigo | FW | 2009–2010 | ||
| Samuel Eto'o | FW | 1996–1997 | ||
| GK | 1985–1990 | 3 La Liga, 1 Copa del Rey, 1 Supercopa de España, 1 UEFA Champions League | ||
| Saúl Ñíguez | MF | 2006–2008 | ||
| FW | 1979–1987 | 2 La Liga, 1 Copa del Rey, 1 Copa de la Liga, 3 Supercopa de España, 1 UEFA Cup | ||
| MF | 1967–1968 | 5 La Liga, 4 Copa del Rey | ||
| MF | 1987–1996 | 1 La Liga, 1 Supercopa de España, 1 UEFA Champions League |
- Bold denotes players still playing in Real Madrid