10 Real Madrid Rejects Who Made It Big Elsewhere

4. Juanfran

Battle-hardened full-back Juanfran grew up in a family of Real Madrid supporters and graduated as an attacking player from their youth system, even featuring in six league games for the senior side before leaving in 2006.

Real handed him a contract extension just a year prior to his departure, which should have kept him at the Bernabeu until 2008. He’d also been a regular performer for Madrid's B team, eventually making his first-team debut in a 2-1 victory over Villarreal in January 2004.

Interestingly, he was known as a pacy right winger in those days, whilst being groomed for stardom in the understudy role to Luis Figo. Juanfran was also a member of the squad that won the UEFA European Under-19 Championships during the summer following his Real bow.

However, with opportunities scarce, he chose to spend a season on loan at Espanyol before truly making a name for himself at Osasuna, where he played over 150 games.

Atletico Madrid then snapped him up, as a winger, in January 2011. Quique Sanchez Flores was replaced by returning coach Gregorio Manzano at the end of that campaign, and he changed the course of Juanfran’s career by utilising him at right-back.

Manzano lasted merely five months, with Diego Simeone breezing through the door to begin one of the most successful periods in Atletico’s history. Thanks in part to his predecessor’s foresight, but mainly to Simeone’s ability for developing footballers, Juanfran became one of the most reliable defenders in Spain and nailed down a national team spot from his first call-up in May 2012.

To illustrate the affection with which he is held by Los Rojiblancos, his personalised shirt sales grew eightfold immediately following a 2016 Champions League final penalty shootout miss versus their city rivals. That’s love for you.