Raúl Asencio, born in 2003 in Tenerife, joined Real Madrid very young before revealing himself to the general public during the 2024-2025 season. Promoted as a first team, he quickly established himself as a reliable option for Carlo Ancelotti, playing 23 Liga games – including 18 as a holder – and some European meetings. His style of play, compared to that of Sergio Ramos, has attracted as much with his power as with his ball maturity. His first invitation with the Spanish selection last March for the League of Nations then suggested a bright future, both in club and selection.
A judicial affair that weighs down its image
Yes but here, the rising star of Spanish football found itself overshadowed by a sad judicial affair. Since September 2023, Asencio has been indicted for its presumed role in the dissemination of a sexual video involving a minor. The investigation, which also concerns three former Castilla teammates, even intensified. In May 2025, the judge in charge of the case decided not to continue him for the recording of the videos – for lack of evidence – but maintained the charges for dissemination of sexual content without consent and use of minors for pornographic purposes.
For its part, the prosecution requested a sentence of four years in prison, as well as a fine and compensation amounting to nearly 58,000 euros. If a final decision is now expected in early 2026, Raúl Asencio finds himself more than ever in the vagueness. Sportingly, the number 17 of the Merengues experienced a more than complicated last end of last season, starting with its performance during the Club World Cup. A penalty conceded against Al-Hilal, an expulsion against Pachuca, a disappointing performance against PSG and the right-hander of 1m84 logically found itself in the heart of criticism …
A role reduced to Real Madrid and nonexistent with Roja
Culpable of the early elimination of Madrid during this new tournament, Asencio, who has not participated in the slightest meeting of Liga since the takeover, finally lost ground in the defensive hierarchy. Eder Militão, Antonio Rüdiger and Dean Huijsen, the new Merengue recruit, are now preferred to him, despite a recent extension until 2031 and a liberating clause of one billion euros. Loss of influence under the orders of Xabi Alonso, the native of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria therefore sees his status as a holder widely called into question. An equally delicate situation in selection. Indeed, if the Roja continues to impress everyone, Asencio remains at the quay.
Although it was summoned once in March 2025, the Madrid did not finally walked the lawn with team A. Since then, it has not been recalled by the coach, Luis de la Fuente, the latter probably preferring to wait for the judicial affair to be clarified before considering integrating it into a group under reconstruction. A worrying downgrading for those who embodied six months ago one of the biggest promises in Real Madrid. One thing is certain, if its potential remains intact, that its margin of progression is real and that Real Madrid continues to protect it, Asencio has, today, no longer the right to make mistakes. His 2025-2026 season could, as such, be that of redemption, if not that of the rocking …
