Real Madrid fans confused by ‘mysterious’ player spotted with first-team despite not being in squad

Madrid fans were baffled by what they saw.

Real Madrid fans were surprised when they observed a ‘mystery’ player participating in first-team training despite not being officially part of the squad.

Following their triumph over reigning European champions Manchester City in the quarter-final stage of the Champions League, Real Madrid is gearing up to face Bayern Munich in the semi-final first leg on Tuesday.

The upcoming two-legged tie is anticipated to be a thrilling encounter, showcasing some of the finest players in the game competing for two iconic clubs at two remarkable stadiums.

Carlo Ancelotti finds himself with a nearly full-strength squad for the first leg, with the exceptions being the suspended Dani Carvajal and the sidelined duo of David Alaba and Thibaut Courtois.

Despite this, Madridistas were taken aback when they noticed an unfamiliar face participating in training at the Allianz Arena ahead of the crucial first leg in Munich.

20-year-old Jeremy De Leon, who joined the soon-to-be crowned La Liga champions from Spanish third-tier side Castellon in January, was spotted training with the team. However, due to regulations, he was unable to be registered to play in the Champions League knockout stages.

Although De Leon has made five appearances for Real Madrid Castilla this season, his presence in first-team training raised eyebrows among fans, with one commenting, “This guy is mysterious. We signed him out of nowhere. He always appears in pictures, travels with the team even though he’s not named in the squad.”

“4 months ago he was playing on a random team from Spain,” another supporter wrote, while another said: “Would be a crazy story if he got his chance due to some absences and won us an important game.”

One enthusiastic fan even went as far as to dub the Puerto Rican talent “The Puerto Rican Messi.”

On Monday, Ancelotti shed light on why he has included De Leon in first-team training sessions on multiple occasions this season and why he traveled with the squad to Manchester in the previous round.

“We want 20 of us in training and in recent games we’ve called on Jeremy a few times because having spoken to Raul [Real Madrid Castilla manager], he’s been very good for Castilla and he’s a disciplined lad,” Ancelotti said.