Real academy product Llorente commits future to the club
Real Madrid midfielder Marcos Llorente has signed a new four-year contract at the club, capping a remarkable rise from the Real Madrid U14s side to the first team.
The 22-year-old impressed out on loan at Alaves last season, making 38 appearances in all competitions for the Basque side as they avoided relegation from the Spanish top flight.
Despite serious interest from other La Liga sides in the summer, Real boss Zinedine Zidane elected to keep the player around and let him form part of the club's first team squad this season, with the youngster having made three appearances for 'Los Blancos' so far this campaign.
Llorente becomes the latest player to commit his future to Real, following in the footsteps of the likes of big-name stars Karim Benzema and Isco.
The contract will keep Llorente at the Bernabeu until June 30th 2021 and the player was understandably delighted to put pen to paper, telling the Real Madrid club website: “I am thrilled to extend my contract with Real Madrid. I dreamed of playing here when I was little and it is the club of my life and all of my family. I can’t wait to grow with this club but I must be patient. I am young and I know there is strong competition here, I'm hoping to learn as I go”.
He also played down his relative modest amount of game time so far this season, saying: “It is difficult to get minutes here and I didn't come in with a preordained idea of how much I would play. I just came in wanting to grow and get to train with these players”.