Spanish midfielder reveals Real Madrid rejected him for his height during youth career | OneFootball

Al-Arabi’s Rodri Sanchez was one of the Qatar-based team’s standout players last season and will always be known as one of the few players who left the peak of their career and accepted a role in the Middle East-based league – something that has not yet become mainstream.

After all, he was in Real Betis’ plans not too long ago but left La Liga for the financially superior offer in Qatar.

What many people do not know about the 25-year-old, however, was that he was at Real Madrid back in the day and dreamt of making it big with Los Blancos.

He auditioned at the club in preseason and was given his chances, but was soon shipped off to CD Canillas which was like the team’s reserve side back then.

Eventually, he left for greener pastures and was never given a chance to progress up the ladder but has now come up with a bizarre theory about his situation back in the day.

Rodri Sanchez faces the media

Speaking in a recent interview with MARCA, the former Real Betis midfielder reminisced about his time at Real Madrid.

“At first I left my town because, being very small, I had no notion of football. My father decided to take me to Madrid to do some tests.”

Rodri Sanchez during his time at Real Betis. (Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images)

“I did well and I did the first season with them, but for whatever it was they didn’t see me for the Alevin A, so I went to Canillas, which was their subsidiary,” he added on being rejected by Los Blancos.

Rodri was then asked if it was possible that Los Blancos rejected him for his height which was a disadvantage to him at the time compared to his peers.

“Maybe it was a bunch of things, yeah. I was very small and maybe that’s why they didn’t see me for that Alevin A,” he recalled.

The 25-year-old Spanish midfielder then recalled how he was tactically and technically superior to many of his peers but was still singled out because of his small frame.

“For quality and talent, I did stand out, but everything was associated with the physique. That’s how things are.”

“For talent, there were few like me in that sense, but what predominated was physical valuation,” he remarked.