Palencia's Real Madrid dream shattered

Miguel Palencia (middle) and Roberto Carlos, Marcelo - two former famous players of Real Madrid.

There are football stories that are not about goals or trophies, but about collisions that break people and force them to start over. Miguel Palencia is one of those stories. A talented right-back of La Fabrica, who once opened the door to the Galacticos dressing room and lived next to Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, David Beckham, Luis Figo or Iker Casillas. But just one sentence pushed him from heaven to earth without brakes.

Palencia grew up dreaming of Real Madrid. He didn't stand aside and really touched the glory when training with legends, sitting next to Casillas on the bus, receiving comments from Raul as a daily occurrence. He was considered a potential piece in the deal to bring Sergio Ramos to Bernabeu. At the age of 20, his future seemed wide open.

Then Michel Gonzalez appeared. When he took over Castilla, Michel did not put his trust in Palencia but gave the position to Miguel Torres. When Palencia sought an answer, he received a thunderous verdict: “Forget Real Madrid. There is no place for you here anymore.”

No words could revive such a blow. Palencia was only 21, had spent 13 years in the academy and suddenly had his door slammed shut. He left Real Madrid with a 2,000 euro settlement, more a symbolic figure than a farewell.

From there, everything went downhill. He moved to Belgium, where he fell to the third division. There, football was no longer what he had loved. There was no creativity or freedom, just shouting, pressure, and doubt. By the age of 27 or 28, Palencia had said goodbye to the sport that had nurtured him since childhood. He was exhausted both physically and mentally.

Miguel Palencia had a brief spell at Real Madrid.

The biggest blow came soon after. Just 18 months after making his debut for Real Madrid’s first team, he was working as a fitness coach for a women’s basketball team in Coslada, earning €300 a month. From the Galacticos locker room to struggling to pay the electricity bill, the contrast left him wondering who he was without the white shirt.

During that dark year and a half, Palencia admits he was devastated. He was lonely, disoriented, and bitterly aware that the world of football can sometimes be cruel to those who grow up in it. But it was then that he found a way out.

Palencia decided to study Physical Education . He discovered a new joy in helping other athletes improve. From a meager income, he built his own training center. Then jobs opened, fame returned, and eventually he became a familiar face on Real Madrid TV, a role he has maintained for more than a decade.

Looking back, Palencia’s journey is not a story of missed talent, but a lesson in collapse and rebirth. He did not become the right-back who followed in Salgado’s footsteps as was once predicted, but he found a life more meaningful than any football shirt could ever offer.

In a football world that is always quick to judge success, Palencia’s story reminds us that careers can be broken, but people don’t have to fall. They just have to get up, again.

Source: https://znews.vn/giac-mo-real-madrid-tan-vo-cua-palencia-post1606204.html