Preston North End and Man United will watching on with very different views after Real Madrid transfer | OneFootball

Former Preston North End and Manchester United man Alvaro Carreras has joined Real Madrid - one fanbase will be happier than the other

Preston North End fans who were around in 2022/23 will feel incredibly vindicated by recent transfer developments coming out of the Spanish capital. It was confirmed last week that left-back Alvaro Carreras had joined Real Madrid from Portuguese side Benfica.

For those who may not remember, Carreras was a PNE loanee three seasons ago, arriving from Manchester United after winning their U23 Player of the Year award in the prior campaign.

Curiously, Carreras is not the first former Preston loan player who came from United to go on to play for Real Madrid. A certain Sir David Beckham did exactly that when he joined Los Blancos in 2003, although the Manchester United he departed were in a much better league position at the time than what the Red Devils could manage in 2024/25.

With that in mind, to see a player that United let go of so easily now join the record 15-time Champions League winners will perhaps make some fans wonder what might’ve been, whereas any North End fans who remember Carreras well will know that a transfer of this magnitude was inevitable for the 22-year-old.

Carreras was a very promising youth prospect at Carrington

During his time in Manchester United’s vaunted youth setup, Carreras was better known as Alvaro Fernandez, and he joined the Red Devils in 2020 from Real Madrid, ironically. Few at the Bernabeu would’ve anticipated eventually putting down €50m for his return, per ESPN.

He was an instant hit at Carrington, moving swiftly into the under-23’s squad. As was reported by the MEN, by September 2021, he had already played 22 times in the Premier League 2, despite being just 17 years old.

By the time the 2021/22 season had concluded, Carreras was well-established as a key club prospect. He only missed three games in the PL2 on his way to picking up that aforementioned Player of the Season award, and even sat on the bench for the first team in United’s final four games of that Premier League season.

Despite being such a prominent figure in their development system, United never gave him his full first-team debut. Ralf Rangnick was in temporary charge of the club during the time when Carreras was sitting on the bench, and he did give debuts to the likes of Shola Shoretire, Anthony Elanga and Hannibal Mejbri, but never found time for Carreras.

Carreras flourished at North End and went from strength-to-strength away from United

It would take a loan spell for Carreras to get his first real taste of senior football, and Deepdale would be where he got it. The Spaniard joined up with Preston ahead of the 2022/23 campaign, aged 18.

Right when he signed with the Lilywhites, he told the club website: “I’m very happy, and I want to start with this club as soon as possible. I wanted to go on loan and start to play at a high level. I’ve spoken to the manager about the football, it’s so good. I like his plans for the season, so I want to start.”

Not only did he start to play at a high level, but he took to first-team football like a duck to water. He was an immovable presence in Ryan Lowe’s first full season in charge at PNE, making 42 appearances and doing essentially everything but score for the club.

Despite not getting on the scoresheet for the first time in senior football, which would undoubtedly have been a special moment, Carreras performances were good enough for him to be voted Young Player of the Season by the PNE faithful.

Having proven himself at Championship level despite still being in his teens, United decided he should try his hand for a team in a top division. Carreras joined Granada in Spain, where he wasn’t able to make the most of his obvious talent.

The Spanish side were struggling badly in La Liga in 2023/24, and despite featuring in 14 games and starting five of those, he was recalled in January, having only been part of a winning team once.

It was his next and final loan spell away from Manchester that would be his defining one. He was back out of the Old Trafford door almost as quickly as he’d returned, this time to Benfica. The Portuguese giants were deeply entrenched in a battle for a Champions League place, as usual, and Carreras featured 11 times in the Liga Portugal, helping the Eagles to seven wins and a second-placed finish in the table in 2023/24.

In late April, against Farense, Carreras also finally got that special moment he had been unfortunate to miss out on at Preston – his first senior goal. He brought down an Angel Di Maria cross on the left side of the box and cut inside, rolling the ball into the near corner and wrong-footing the goalkeeper.

Following that strike, and his other impressive performances for Benfica, Dale O'Donnell, of United-favouring news site Stretty News, speculated that “his goal against Farense may help persuade Benfica to make his temporary move a permanent one in the summer”.

Proud Preston and regretful United will be watching Carreras at Real Madrid

Sure enough, in May, Carreras was brought back to the Estadio da Luz on a permanent basis for €6m, plus €3m in potential add-ons, per The Athletic. One full season there, and arguably the biggest club in the world have come knocking in Real Madrid.

As was reported by the MEN, United had a buy-back clause inserted into the deal which was valid up until the summer of 2026. Of course, that was a part of his Benfica contract, and that option will no longer be exercisable following his blockbuster move to the Spanish capital.

The Red Devils have been searching for a dependable left-sided defender for years. They have always had Luke Shaw, but his dreadful injury record during his time at the club speaks for itself. In February 2025, The Mirror worked out that Shaw had spent a total of 1,606 days injured in his United career to that point, having missed 221 matches, whilst playing 278.

January signing Patrick Dorgu, who was brought in from Italian side Lecce for £30m, per Sky Sports, is likely to be Ruben Amorim’s first choice next season, and played plenty in the second half of United’s dismal 2024/25. However, beyond him, their options are converting right-back Diogo Dalot to play on the left, or relying on teenagers Diego Leon or Harry Amass, neither of whom are proven commodities yet.

Carreras’ other former club, Preston, are impressing with their full-back recruitment this summer. They’ve permanently signed both Pol Valentin and Thierry Small from Championship rivals Sheffield Wednesday and Charlton Athletic, respectively.

They knew that they only had Carreras for one season, and they will be beaming at what the Spaniard has accomplished in his time since leaving Deepdale, knowing they were there when it all began at senior level for him. United, by contrast, will rue that they have let a player who could’ve been so helpful to them in recent underwhelming years slip right through their fingers.