Real Madrid News
Cristiano Ronaldo’s son trains with Real Madrid U-16 with a view to joining the academy
In a major development, Mario Cortegana of The Athletic reports that Cristiano Ronaldo’s eldest son is training with Real Madrid’s youth academy with a view of joining the club in the near future.
Ronaldo Jr., 15, is understood to have trained with the Merengues’ Under-16 side ahead of a potential switch to La Fabrica in the near future.
Ronaldo Jr., who plays as a striker, is currently a part of the Al Nassr academy, signing there after his father joined the Saudi Arabian giants in December 2022.
Prior to that, the teenage forward played at the youth setups of Juventus and Manchester United, two more of Cristiano’s former clubs.
Born in the US, Ronaldo Jr. received his first Portugal youth call-up in May 2025, making his debut for the U-15 side against Japan in the Vlatko Markovic International Tournament. Since then, he has also represented the national team at the U-17 level.
Now, the young striker has begun training with the Real Madrid U-16 team and could soon sign for La Fabrica, where the son of another club legend Marcelo, Enzo Alves, is already making waves.
Should Ronaldo Jr. end up signing for the Real Madrid academy, there will be a lot of expectations on the teenager, considering what his father achieved at the club.
Cristiano spent nine years at Real Madrid, joining from Manchester United in 2009 before leaving for Juventus in 2018.
In that time, the 41-year-old Portuguese megastar won two La Liga titles, two Copa del Rey trophies, and four UEFA Champions League crowns.
Ronaldo also happens to be the all-time leading goalscorer in Real Madrid history with 450 goals in 438 appearances.
With the international break done and dusted, Real Madrid will be back in action this weekend in La Liga, where they will be looking to catch up to league leaders FC Barcelona.
Coming up for Jose Mourinho & co., who lost their last game before the international break, will be a home game against Villarreal on Saturday.
And, leading up to the game, the Spanish capital club have received welcome news on the injury front.
Mbappe back in group training
Indeed, as per MARCA, Kylian Mbappe will be available for Real Madrid’s match against Villarreal at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday.
Having been training individually so far this week, the France captain rejoined group training under Mourinho today, taking a concrete step forward towards making himself available for the game.
The forward looked relaxed and ready to work, putting his boots back on and joining the group as Real Madrid prepare for a demanding run of fixtures throughout October.
And, unless there is any unforeseen setback, everything suggests that Mbappe will be ready to start against the Yellow Submarine come Saturday.
Under scrutiny
The past few weeks have been nothing short of eventful for Mbappe, with his every action and movement under heavy scrutiny.
Playing for France, in Zinedine Zidane’s managerial debut, the 27-year-old superstar scored a goal before asking for a substitution due to a knee injury.
Having flown back to Madrid, he underwent tests, which confirmed the injury, although it was not as serious as was initially feared.
The forward then took week-long holiday with his partner that sparked some debate among supporters and attracted criticism from multiple quarters.
Mbappe returned to Madrid on Monday and participated in individual sessions at Valdebebas over the past couple of days. Now he has resumed normal training with his teammates.
There had been doubts over whether Mbappe would be able to face Villarreal after he picked up the injury on 25 September.
However, the recovery plan followed by the forward appears to have worked, and he is now expected to be in a fully fit condition for Saturday’s match.
