'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Real Madrid are arguably the greatest club in football history. They have won the most UEFA Champions League crowns (13) and the highest number of La Liga titles (34). Hence, it is hard to argue with Los Blancos’ stronghold over the world of football.
For context, AC Milan (7) and Liverpool (6), the second and third-most successful European clubs, will have to combine their trophies to equal Real Madrid’s 13. Plenty of yesteryear stars have played their part in achieving such legendary status for the Spanish club.
Real Madrid have invested well in their youngsters
Real Madrid are known to be a club that buys superstars. The Spanish giants were buying world-class talent for vast sums of money before Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain came to relevance. Despite their bold transfer strategies, they have produced some great young footballers from RM Castilla.
With that being said, let’s check out Real Madrid’s top five youngest goal scorers.
#5 Jose Rodriguez (17y 10m 15d)
Jose Rodriguez joined Real Madrid’s youth setup in 2009, aged 15. He spent three years before appearing 61 times for RM Castilla. Despite scoring just four goals for their reserve team, he was promoted to the main side but he couldn't step up to the plate.
Rodriguez scored his solitary goal for the club a month and a half before his 18th birthday. The goal came in a 4-1 victory over CD Alcoyano in the Copa del Rey. The midfielder represented the La Liga side just four times before leaving the club permanently in 2015. After torrid times at Galatasaray, Mainz and Malaga, the Spaniard signed for Maccabi Haifa in 2020.
The 27-year-old has become a regular at the Israeli club, featuring 69 times over the last 18 months. After wandering around Europe’s top leagues, it looks as if the former Real Madrid man has finally found a place he can call home.
#4 Rene Petit (17y 7m 7d)
Born in the 19th century, Rene Petit is by far the oldest player on the list. An engineer-cum-footballer, Petit played for Los Merengues from 1914 to 1917. He scored a total of 14 goals in 29 appearances for the side in his short spell.
The Franco-Spanish engineer is one of the youngest goal scorers in the club’s history, despite scoring that goal more than a century ago. Apart from his time at the 34-time La Liga winners, the Frenchman also spent 12 years in Real Union.
Petit was known to be a physically gifted striker with outstanding technical ability. While playing, his elegance and vision made him an instant hit among Madrid fans. He was their youngest goal scorer for the Spanish giants for half a century.
#3 Raul (17y 4m 9d)
Raul Gonzalez is a bonafide Real Madrid legend and is by far the most accomplished player among their catalog of young goal scorers. The Spanish centre-forward spent a trophy-laden time at the Santiago Bernabeu that spanned nearly two decades.
The former Real Madrid number 7 scored a bucket load of goals for the club, 323 to be precise. His exploits in La Liga and the Champions League were central to the Galacticos’ success in 1990s and 2000s. He is their second-highest goal scorer of all time.
“El Ferrari” scored 71 goals in 142 UCL matches and was the top-scorer in the competition before Cristiano Ronaldo overtook him. The prolific striker is also the second-highest goal scorer for Spain, behind only David Villa. He is now the manager of RM Castilla.
#2 Alberto Rivera (17y 3m 25d)
Alberto Rivera was born just one year after Raul. By scoring a goal against Celta Vigo in the 1994-95 season, he became the club’s second-youngest goal scorer ever. Although he trumped Raul in this regard, he didn’t have a half as good a career.
The Spanish midfielder would not find the back of the net for Los Blancos again. After being a stalwart for RM Castilla from 1996 to 1999, he decided to move on a loan to CD Numancia. He left the Santiago Bernabeu in 2002, joining Levante as a result.
Rivera was a great servant to Levante, Real Betis and Sporting Gijon in 2000s. He couldn’t find a place for himself among the embarrassment of riches at Real Madrid. But he was more than a handy midfielder in the Segunda Division, winning the competition twice.
#1 Antolin Ortega (16y 10m 21d)
Rene Petit’s record of being the youngest goalscorer in the club’s history stood from 1917 to 1968. Antolin Ortega didn’t only break the record, but he shattered it, and no player has come close to displacing the Spanish midfielder.
Ortega was a Spanish midfielder who came through the ranks at RM Castilla. He scored his debut goal before his 17th birthday in his only appearance for the senior side. The Madrid-born footballer enjoyed a moderately successful stint with Real Betis.
The former Los Blancos prodigy was equally capable of operating in central midfield and defensive midfield. He would occasionally also fill in at the heart of the defense. He still holds to the feat of being the youngest goalscorer in the history of this prestigious football club.
