The rise of Gonzalo Garcia, Real Madrid’s breakthrough star of the Club World Cup

Real Madrid academy striker Gonzalo Garcia is having a life-changing Club World Cup.

He came into the tournament in the background, almost an unknown player to the general public, and three starts later — due to Kylian Mbappe’s acute gastroenteritis — everyone knows what he is capable of now.

Gonzalo scored the first goal for Xabi Alonso’s Madrid in the opener against Al Hilal, was involved in two of the three goals against Pachuca (one was an assist) and scored again against Salzburg.

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“I knew a lot (about him) because I’ve followed Castilla a lot,” explained Alonso after qualifying for the next round. “For me, it’s not so surprising what he’s doing. He reminds me of Raul in many ways.”

Gonzalo’s story in the competition has been like a movie and now that he is a protagonist, something new about him becomes known every day. The latest is that the 21-year-old’s grandfather, the bullfighter Manuel Torres-Cansino, was a cousin of the American actress Margarita Carmen Cansino, commonly known as Rita Hayworth.

In other words, 1940s star Hayworth is Gonzalo’s great aunt, so it could be said that success in the United States runs in the family.

Few details describe the rapid development this ‘canterano’ (homegrown player) has experienced more significantly than the fan reactions to his name, with clear increasing noise, in each of the group-stage stadiums at the pre-match presentation ceremony.

Gonzalo Garcia scores Real Madrid’s third goal in their 3-0 win over Salzburg (Luke Hales/Getty Images)

This boom has even meant that no one is now ruling out Gonzalo continuing to be a regular member of Alonso’s first team, despite the fact that he landed in Miami with the general expectation that he would leave this summer in search of more minutes.

“It will depend on the club and the coach,” Gonzalo said on Wednesday.

“There is no decision yet,” Alonso said on Thursday.

After speaking to sources inside and outside the club, talking anonymously to protect relationships, The Athletic tells you the full story of Real Madrid’s surprise breakthrough star in the USA.

Gonzalo arrived at La Fabrica, as Madrid’s youth system is known, in 2014, joining Alevin B — the under-11 team — aged 10.

He joined from youth club Jarama Race, in San Sebastian de los Reyes (northern Madrid), where he was coached by Daniel Ortiz between 2012 and 2014.

“He stood out for his speed — he flew! — and his level of responsibility despite his age,” Ortiz recalls.

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In 2018, Gonzalo spent a season at Mallorca due to his family moving to Palma for his father’s job (he works in the hospitality industry).

A year later, he returned to the club and went on to make his first-team debut at the end of 2023 in the La Liga visit to Cadiz, under Carlo Ancelotti.

The road to that first peak was far from easy, as in none of Gonzalo’s first seasons after his return did he score more than 10 goals.

“At the beginning, he played more on the wing at Madrid, even as a full-back,” remembers Marc Cucalon, Madrid’s “next Xabi Alonso” who had to retire at 19 and is now part of the scouting team of management agency Unlimited Sports Management.

“When he came back from Mallorca, he struggled a bit, so the key was (Alvaro) Arbeloa in increasing his standards to very high levels.”

Arbeloa, the former Real Madrid and Liverpool player, and the new Castilla coach from this summer, was able to see in Gonzalo what no one else could in order to enhance his qualities and polish his deficiencies.

Gonzalo scored 35 goals with the Juvenil A in the 2022-2023 season, leading his team to a historic national treble. The statistics are especially spectacular taking into account the player’s previous records and the fact that he played many games as a left winger.

One of Gonzalo’s qualities is his versatility, as he can play in any position in attack. Alonso took advantage of this against Pachuca, where Gonzalo started as a No 9 but when Raul Asencio was sent off, he moved to the left flank and Vinicius Junior was the striker.

But perhaps his greatest hallmark is his mentality and ambition.

“He is a very good person and has always been very focused,” explains Cucalon, “The typical boy with the highest grades and the best in everything, with a family (he has a brother and a sister) that is amazing.

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“And he takes everything to the fullest. When we played pachangas (pick-up games) with his friends, he would take it like a Champions League final. Then we’d play PlayStation and it’s the same thing. He doesn’t leave anything behind.”

“He’s f****** sick!'” says a coach who knows him from the Real Madrid academy. “He works hard, he puts in a brutal intensity, he is focused — and he doesn’t give you a smile, whether you’re the coach, the physical trainer or one of the team-mates with more quality.

“If you don’t pass to him, he makes you see that you have to pass to him; if you don’t work well, he makes you see that you don’t work well. He doesn’t hold back. All that is in a good sense: he has personality and is very committed both to the team and to himself.”

There is an anecdote that also speaks to Gonzalo’s mindset.

In the final of the Copa de Campeones de Juvenil (Spanish football’s biggest youth trophy) in 2023, Gonzalo failed to defend in a corner that ended with the Betis goal. At half-time, he said in the dressing room that he would make up for it and then promptly scored twice to fire Madrid to a 3-1 win.

🫂⚽️ ¡¡𝐆𝐎𝐎𝐎𝐎𝐋 𝐆𝐎𝐎𝐎𝐎𝐋 𝐆𝐎𝐎𝐎𝐎𝐋 𝗗𝗘𝗟 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗟 𝗠𝗔𝗗𝗥𝗜𝗗!! 🚀 Gran jugada de Nico Paz que acaba con un cabezazo de Gonzalo al fondo de la red. 🆚 @RBetisCantera 1-2 @lafabricacrm 📺 @vamos#CopaDeCampeones pic.twitter.com/oXMe4KhZqQ — RFEF (@rfef) May 20, 2023

His rise then was unstoppable and he maintained that magnificent dynamic at Real Madrid Castilla. After a season of adaptation with just five goals, former head coach Raul took advantage of the momentum and Gonzalo registered the all-time record of goals (25) in the 2024-25 season in Primera RFEF (the third tier).

“He’s a kid with a lot of potential, with a very good physique, a very good finish and a very good shot,” says a Castilla coaching staff source. “The only thing he has to have is patience, as he is one of those who wants to speed up the processes.”

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There’s that hunger again.

“He is the kind of player that highlights and uses that for his level of confidence to elevate him,” the source continues. “They’re not intimidated by anything. They believe until death in themselves.”

Despite all this, it was not until last February that Gonzalo’s name gained a little more notoriety among Madrid fans. The striker scored a header in the 93rd minute of the Copa del Rey quarter-final at Leganes, avoiding extra time and taking Madrid through to the semi-finals. Despite being 1.82m (5ft 11ins) tall, he showed, at Butarque, his impressive jump ability.

Gonzalo celebrates his match-winner against Leganes in February (Javier Soriano/AFP via Getty Images)

Alonso’s arrival has opened up a new horizon for him and other academy players. The other key factor in Gonzalo’s emergence has been the injury to Endrick, who cannot play in the Club World Cup.

Off the pitch, Garcia is studying a five-year double degree in business administration and direction and business analytics, with a specialism in big data.

On it, he is a player that Alonso likes, and those who know Gonzalo best in Valdebebas had told him that he would have minutes in the U.S.. The reality has exceeded all expectations.

“I am almost sure that he will stay (at Madrid this summer),” a source close to Gonzalo tells The Athletic. “As of today, he is the most different of all the attacking players. The team doesn’t have a striker like him and he has a lot of resources and qualities: he can be a 9 in the area and he also can play on either flank. He threatens with depth, he works (for the team) a lot.”

The Athletic previously reported that Madrid have been looking for a Joselu-style No 9 with impact in the penalty area, who accepts a secondary role and does not involve a big financial investment in this summer’s transfer window.

But what if that striker could end up being Gonzalo, who was asked, after being named man of the match against Al Hilal, if he thinks he could be a success at the Bernabeu.

“Of course I’m convinced,” he said. “That’s what I’m working for and I’ve been working for since I entered the academy of Real Madrid.”

If Gonzalo continues to live his American dream, he can continue to convince the rest.

(Top photo: Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images)

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