Real Madrid sold five players in the summer of 2015 and won the Champions League 10 months later – but what became of those players cut loose by the Spanish giants?
Rafa Benitez had just been appointed manager of Madrid and signed Mateo Kovacic and Danilo, before being booted out six months later for Zinedine Zidane.
Los Blancos parted ways with five players when Benitez was in charge, and they were, for the most part, the right choice. But where are they now?
Iker Casillas
One of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, Casillas won the lot during his 725 appearances for Real Madrid and was also between the sticks for Spain’s run of success at international level between 2008 and 2012.
But his star had waned by 2015; Casillas was at fault for Atletico Madrid’s goal in the 2014 Champions League final and was humiliated at the World Cup by Arjen Robben a month later.
Rather than hang up his gloves upon leaving Madrid, Casillas went to Porto and continued playing for another four seasons, notching over 150 appearances for the Primeira Liga giants.
He eventually called time on his playing career in 2020, after almost a year on the sidelines following a heart attack he suffered during training.
Nowadays he’s back at Madrid, working as the deputy director general of the Real Madrid Foundation.
Sami Khedira
Khedira moved to Juventus in 2015, one year after starting in Madrid’s Champions League final victory over Atletico, after being displaced by Toni Kroos.
He won five successive Scudetto with the Old Lady before seeing out his career with a short and sweet stint with Hertha Berlin.
He’s kept a low profile since retiring but has done the odd bit of punditry work for ESPN.
Javier Hernandez
With Carlo Ancelotti looking to add an extra punch to his Real Madrid side in 2014, the reigning European champions signed Hernandez on a season-long loan from Manchester United.
He scored nine goals across all competitions, but despite the club having the option to sign him on a permanent basis, they ultimately opted not to.
Following stints with Bayer Leverkusen, West Ham and Sevilla, Hernandez eventually ended up spending four years at LA Galaxy.
After missing the majority of 2022-23 through injury, he’s since returned to Mexico and now stars for Guadalajara in Liga MX.
Asier Illarramendi
Madrid parted with the biggest fee they’d ever paid for a Spaniard to sign Illarramendi for €32.2million in 2013 following his exploits with Real Sociedad.
He never quite fit in, though, and returned to Sociedad two years later with Ancelotti also departing the club, spending a further eight years in San Sebastian.
Illarramendi moved to FC Dallas in 2023, but left last year and the 35-year-old is currently without a club.
QUIZ: Can you name Real Madrid’s 25 most expensive sales in history?
Fernando Pacheco
During the summer of 2014, Pacheco was promoted to the senior team from Real Madrid Castilla.
The goalkeeper spent several years on the books at Real Madrid, but only ever made two senior appearances for the club.
He’s most known for his time at Alaves where he racked up over 250 appearances, but these days you can find the 32-year-old playing for Espanyol in La Liga.
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