It is the product and consequence of Real Madrid’s way of doing things. Another youth player raised in La Fábrica who, without opportunities in Chamartín, had to fly from Valdebebas to demonstrate his quality, more than proven in his two and a half seasons at Girona. Left-back Miguel Gutiérrez faces his former team today, which was his home during his training period, converted into a stronghold in Montilivi, an essential piece in Míchel’s scheme.
In June 2022, Marcelo, one of the best full-backs in the club’s history and the leader of the left wing for 16 years, said goodbye to Madrid with honors. By then, the Brazilian veteran had already won the fight for the title Ferland Mendy, more physical and much less skilled, who was signed with a checkbook for 48 million. In the background, Miguel Gutiérrez watched the scene, pondering his future. The goodbye of his idol opened a door for him in the first team, but his feelings told him otherwise.
The white team retains 50% of the rights to the full-back and a buyback option of 8 million
The Madrid native had made his debut under Zidane in the 2020-21 season, on April 21 against Cádiz, and had finished the campaign playing the last three games as a starter. However, his emergence remained a testimonial the following year with the return of the now white coach Carlo Ancelotti. After participating in some games at the beginning of the season, until September, he was relegated to Castilla for the rest of the season. The Italian coach, the same one who a year later replaced Fran García for the left-handed side, did not trust Gutiérrez who packed his bags for a newly promoted team like Girona, attracted by Míchel’s idea of the game.
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The one from Pinto, 23 years old, belongs equally to the Catalan club and the white club, which owns 50% of his rights and a buyback option of 8 million, more than the 5 million that the Gironins paid in 2022 for this defense with a clause of 35 million. Gutiérrez is happy in Girona, with a contract until 2027, while Madrid, with its back to the youth team, with fewer and fewer Spaniards in the team, is exploring signing Alphonso Davies in the summer for a left wing where Mendy no longer offers security of yesteryear.
Pinto’s band is too small and his influence on the game already covers the core and even the area.
Oblivious to rumors, Gutiérrez has raised the level even further this season, now much more than a full-back. “Does anyone know what Miguel and Arnau play? Nobody knows. They have internalized the style and appear and disappear around the field. “They are supporting us, they go deep, they score goals, they assist…” Míchel praised Arnau Martínez and Miguel, an all-rounder whose wing has become too small. His habitat is also the midfield and even the area, with two goals and three assists. “Míchel has made me understand football at another level,” praised the coach a few months ago, key in his evolution. In a season marked by injuries at Montilivi, Gutiérrez has also shown physical reliability, completing 18 of the 22 games this season and participating in 20. He was only not called up in the cup loss against UD Logroñés.
Olympic champion in Paris, the Madrid native, “just another kid who doesn’t get into trouble”, as he defines himself, does not get carried away by his success and maintains his roots. He goes to Pinto to see his childhood friends and recently participated in the tribute to one of his first coaches at ADYC Pinto, his first club before joining Getafe and then Madrid. Until not long ago, when his future at the Bernabéu was unclear, he saw the prospect of being a professional footballer as far away and his most plausible plans were to dedicate himself to something related to sport thanks to his INEF title, which he obtained in 2023. But the reality is that, based on perseverance and work, the Pinteño has risen to be one of Girona’s main arguments, both in defense and attack, to stand up to his Real Madrid, where he grew up like a blackbird. for more than ten years until his wings were clipped.
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