Real Madrid News
Cadiz pushing to sign 22-year-old Real Madrid academy midfielder
According to AS, Cadiz are pushing to sign Real Madrid youngster Manuel Angel even as talks over a move to UD Almeria face some roadblocks.
The Spanish second division side need to strengthen their midfield. Following the confirmed departure of Rominigue Kouame and the possible exit of Joaquin Gonzalez, they have vacancies to fill and wants to complete the position as soon as possible.
One of the names to emerge in recent hours is Manuel Angel.
According to the report, Cadiz are trying to convince both the player and Real Madrid to approve a move to the Andalusian club.
Almería still waiting
Almeria had previously been close to signing the midfielder, but Cadiz’s late intervention has thrown the situation wide open.
The player is also carefully considering his next step. Real Madrid now appear more inclined to send the 22-year-old to Cadiz, but the competition remains open. Everything is still undecided, and the coming hours could prove decisive.
One thing appears certain: whichever club signs Manuel Angel, Real Madrid will transfer 50% of the midfielder’s rights, following the formula the club regularly use with their academy players.
That structure allows the Merengues to retain some control over the player’s future while giving him the opportunity to continue his development elsewhere.
A promising player
Captaining Castilla last season, Manuel Angel played 29 matches and scored one goal in the RFEF Primera Federacion for the reserve team.
He was given his opportunity with the Real Madrid first team under Alvaro Arbeloa. He made seven appearances during the 2025-26 campaign, including four in La Liga and two in the Champions League.
Now, with both Cadiz and Almeria interested, the next few hours could determine where the Real Madrid academy product continues his career.
Real Madrid have already raised more than €200 million revenue from deals involving academy players either through direct sales or thanks to the future sell-on clauses included in deals.
With Manuel Angel now expected to leave, the Spanish capital club will see another small rise in the revenue generated from La Fabrica.
Kylian Mbappe’s blistering start to the season has already hit its first bump, with the Real Madrid forward’s missed penalty against Real Betis exposing an area of his game that has historically been less reliable.
Mbappe had given Madrid fans plenty of reasons for optimism in the opening weeks.
He scored a hat-trick against Real Sociedad before finding the net again against Malaga, making it four goals across his first three matches of the season.
The performance against Betis, though, was a different story.
Mbappe struggled to make the same impact and then missed an injury-time penalty, with Alvaro Valles making the save as Madrid eventually suffered a 0-1 defeat.
Mbappe’s penalty numbers make uncomfortable reading
Mbappe’s latest miss adds to a record that is far from elite when compared with some of Real Madrid’s previous specialists.
Including the Betis penalty, Mbappe has now missed 16 of the 81 penalties he has taken during his career, excluding shoot-outs. That represents a failure rate of 19.7%.
His numbers with Real Madrid are even less convincing, having converted 19 of 24 penalties for the club, meaning his miss rate stands at 20.8%, effectively one missed penalty in every five attempts.
Mbappe’s record compared with Madrid legends
The comparison with Real Madrid’s previous penalty takers provides better context.
Cristiano Ronaldo missed only 13 of his 92 penalties, giving him a miss rate of 14.1%. Sergio Ramos was considerably more dependable, missing just one of his 23 attempts, which is a rate of 4.3%.
All three sets of figures exclude penalty shoot-outs, making the comparison more relevant to normal match situations.
Mbappe therefore has work to do if he is to reach the level of reliability expected from a team’s primary penalty taker.
Sure, his overall goalscoring numbers remain outstanding, but penalties are an important part of that production.
Mourinho should keep faith with Mbappe
Meanwhile, there is little reason for Jose Mourinho or the Real Madrid dressing room to lose confidence in Mbappe because of one miss on matchday four.
His opening performances, particularly the hat-trick against Real Sociedad, provide ample evidence of his quality, and the greater concern may be psychological rather than tactical.
Mbappe’s confidence from the spot will be worth watching, especially because of what he is chasing this season.
The Ballon d’Or, Pichichi and Golden Boot are all among his ambitions, and penalties offer a valuable route towards the goals required for those prizes.
