Parejo left the Bernabéu as a boy and returns as a man

He joined Real Madrid at the age of 15; today he is the Valencia captain.

Dani Parejo has come a long way since his days as a youngster at Real Madrid.

In the large towns on the outskirts of Madrid, when a boy stands out and signs for Real Madrid or Atlético, the news spreads like wildfire in schools and colleges. The boy becomes a celebrity among the young people for a while. Then they wait to see if he manages to play in the Primera División or not. Something similar happened to Dani Parejo in 2004. He was 15 and he signed for Madrid after taking his first steps in football with his local team Coslada. Every evening he covered the path from his town to Alcobendas (Real Madrid’s Cadete A side trained there until Valdebebas was opened) with the dream of debuting at the Bernabéu one day and, above all, playing in the Primera.

Everything went very quickly. Three years later he was making his debut with Castilla, in Segunda B, and he was still one of the best despite being one of the youngest players in the team.

“He is La Fábrica’s best talent,” said Alfredo Di Stéfano. And at the age of 19, after a failed experience at QPR, he fulfilled his dream of lining up for Real Madrid, under Juande Ramos. He took part in five matches – he didn’t start in any of them – and impressed.

His career took off and at Getafe, he cut his teeth in La Liga. He was already ready to form part of an important team and Valencia came calling. Real Madrid gave approval for the deal although they did not lose sight of him as they retained a buyback option for two years. However, Parejo endured the bitter face of football for the first time at Mestalla.

For a variety of reasons, he did not shine under Unai Emery or Mauricio Pellegrino. His quality was noted but he lacked something. “I had a hard time,” he acknowleged. But then Ernesto Valverde arrived. He gave the midfielder confidence and Parejo’s mind clicked.

The footballer returned to the right path, when nearly no-one believed in him. This year coach Nuno has given him the necessary boost to allow him to become a top midfielder. He gave him the captain’s armband and the No.10 and Parejo is corresponding. He has scored 12 times and is knocking at the door of the Spanish national team. And today (Saturday) he returns to the Bernabéu…as a man.