Real Madrid's La Fábrica: The Departures of Manuel Ángel and David Jiménez
Behind the closed doors of Valdebebas, Manuel Ángel and David Jiménez keep working as if a league title were at stake. Same intensity, same focus. Only one thing has changed: everyone knows their future now lies away from Real Madrid.
Both are waiting. Not for a chance, but for the right offer. There is no shortage of interest. Clubs from Spain’s top two divisions and several European leagues have already circled, aware that two of the brightest products of La Fábrica are about to hit the market.
They have already disappeared from Castilla’s friendlies and official squads. Not a punishment, a precaution. With academy sales already bringing in a record 199 million euros, Real Madrid will not risk a serious injury derailing what could be decisive moves, as reported by Spanish outlet AS. After the sale of Jacobo Ortega, the pair are next in line to go.
This is not just about two exits. It is about a model reaching full speed.
Manuel Ángel: The Brain of a Generation
Manuel Ángel could have gone a year ago. Levante pushed hardest, Aston Villa tried to lure him away, and other clubs hovered, sensing opportunity. He stayed. One more season. One more shot at breaking through.
He did not waste it.
Under Álvaro Arbeloa and then López de Lerma, he wore the captain’s armband and grew into the reference point of that “treble” generation. The reward came late in the campaign: time with the first team. Seven appearances, 129 minutes. Not much on paper, but enough to show his game belongs at a higher level.
Now 22, 170 centimetres tall, and a Real Madrid player since 2014, he stands out as one of the emblematic names of that youth side led by Arbeloa, alongside Nico Paz, Gonzalo, Palacios and Jacobo Ramón. Arbeloa once summed him up with a line that stuck inside the club: “a player who completely changes the course of a match”.
He does it without the physique that usually headlines modern midfielders. His strength lies elsewhere. He reads the game faster than most, uses both feet with rare natural ease, and controls the rhythm of play. He takes free kicks with his right and with his left, so often and so cleanly that staff at Valdebebas joke he “doesn’t even know if he’s right-footed or left-footed”.
Twelve years after arriving at the academy, the interest around him is no longer just admiration. Clubs are expected to turn that into formal offers in the coming days and weeks. For Manuel Ángel, the next chapter is overdue.
David Jiménez: Arbeloa’s Right-Hand Man on the Pitch
If Manuel Ángel is the mind, David Jiménez is the surge of energy down the flank.
Also a key piece of that treble-winning crop, the right-back delivered close to 20 assists in that standout season. Numbers that would be eye-catching for a winger, let alone a defender.
At Valdebebas they call him Arbeloa’s “right-hand man” on the pitch and talk about “the best right foot in the academy”. It shows. He is an attacking full-back in the purest sense: constantly pushing high, a threat on every overlap, and a specialist on set pieces. On the ball, he keeps his composure like a central midfielder.
Inside the academy, the description is clear and vivid: “He surges forward with all his might, he has the personality of a leader and the touch of Carvajal.” His character mirrors that of Arbeloa, the player he idolised as a child and the coach who later became one of his strongest supporters.
Born in 2004, in the academy since 2013, the 1.70-metre defender closed last season with 153 minutes for the first team, 91 of them under Xabi Alonso. The sample was small but left a mark on the staff. Enough to convince many that he is ready to step beyond the protective bubble of Real Madrid and test himself as a starter elsewhere.
He is now in the same waiting room as Manuel Ángel: training hard, suitcase metaphorically packed, needing only the spark of the right proposal to ignite the next stage of his career. Inside the club, there is quiet confidence that it will come.
A Summer That Breaks the 200 Million Barrier
Their exits carry emotional weight inside La Fábrica, but on the balance sheet they tell a bigger story.
Once Manuel Ángel and David Jiménez complete their moves, Real Madrid’s academy sales this summer will smash through the 200 million euro mark. The 10 million euros received for Jacobo Ortega already pushed the total past 199 million. The threshold is now within a single deal.
People at Valdebebas had called it “a historic summer” before the window even hit full stride. They were not exaggerating. One by one, key academy products have gone out the door, each deal carefully structured, often with Real Madrid retaining a percentage of future sales.
The list is striking:
- Nico Paz (60 million euros)
- Gonzalo (40 million)
- Víctor Muñoz (20.5 million)
- Gila (15 million)
- Álvaro Rodríguez (12.5 million)
- Álex Jiménez (12.5 million)
- Palacios (10 million)
- Jacobo Ortega (10 million)
- Fran García (4 million)
- Mario Martín (3 million)
- Fran González (3 million)
Interest remains strong in others such as Sisteró, Yáñez and Juan Martínez.
For the club, it is validation of an academy that not only feeds the first team but finances it. For players like Manuel Ángel and David Jiménez, it is the price tag attached to their leap into the unknown.
They grew up dreaming of the Bernabéu. Now they leave through another door, one that leads to starting roles, responsibility, and the chance to prove that La Fábrica doesn’t just produce assets — it produces footballers ready to shape games and seasons elsewhere.
The record will fall when they go. The real question is what they will build with the freedom that finally comes after Valdebebas.
