MOST football fans and players dream of one day representing Real Madrid.
And for Juanfran Moreno even just donning the shirt once was enough to feel like he’d seen his dreams become a reality.
The 35-year-old full-back has called an end to his career after spells with Real Betis, Alanyaspor and Getafe.
But it’s his singular La Liga appearance for the Real Madrid first team that he treasures so highly when looking back on his time on the pitch.
The Spaniard played 138 times for Real’s B team, Real Madrid Castilla, before earning a spot alongside Europe’s best players at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Speaking to Marca, Juanfran recalled the “dream” of being called up to train with the first team.
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He said: “I saw that it was an opportunity to enjoy the players that Real Madrid had, Raúl, Guti, Cristiano [Ronaldo], [Karim] Benzema… It was a dream.
“I took it as the opportunity of my life, it was incredible and I stayed training with them until the end of the season.”
But training with players of that quality was a reality check for Juanfran who immediately knew he was out of his depth.
“It makes you dizzy. You know you're not at that level. For me it was unforgettable, it was like a title.” He explained.
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The Madrid born defender made his debut for Los Blancos during a 3-2 win over Osasuna in 2010.
And gracing the same pitch as Cristiano Ronaldo was something he won’t forget in a hurry.
The retired pro recalled Ronaldo’s stunning 89th minute winner, he said: “I went in because we needed an offensive change and it was won with a magic jump of Cristiano. I still have a photo there with [Sergio] Ramos and Cristiano. It was unforgettable.”
Juanfran ultimately left Real Madrid in 2013 in favour of regular first team football at Betis.
Some 47 appearances later and he earned himself a move to Watford, but things didn’t work out as he would have hoped.
Despite spending three years with The Hornets, he never played a single game for them.
Instead he was sent back to Spain on loan for three consecutive seasons at Deportivo de La Coruña before making a permanent switch in 2017.
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