‘Near Future’—Cristiano Ronaldo’s Son Takes First Step to Join Real Madrid

The teenager is currently in Al Nassr’s academy.

Cristiano Ronaldo Jr has already represented Portugal at the youth level. | Eric Verhoeven/Soccrates/Getty Images

While Cristiano Ronaldo recovers from injury in the Spanish capital, his eldest son reportedly trained with Real Madrid’s academy on Tuesday.

At 15 years old, Ronaldo Jr has been in the youth ranks at Manchester United, Juventus and Al Nassr, following his father across the globe. Now, the teenager is seemingly in line to add Real Madrid to his already extensive résumé.

The Athletic report Ronaldo Jr trained with Los Blancos’ U-16 side this week, with the intention of possibly joining La Fábrica in the “near future.” The striker is already in the ranks at Al Nassr, but he is not currently with the team as his father rehabs a muscular injury in Spain.

Ronaldo Jr previously earned his first Portugal youth call-up in May 2025 with the U-15 team and has since gone on to represent the U-17 side. Despite being born in the United States, he pledged his allegiance to his father’s homeland and now could be on his way to doing the same at Real Madrid.

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Ronaldo Jr Has an Impossible Legacy to Follow

Cristiano Ronaldo is the best player to ever don a white shirt. | Angel Martinez/Real Madrid/Getty Images

Should Ronaldo Jr in fact sign with Real Madrid in the future, he is coming to Valdebebas with the weight of the world on his shoulders. After all, his father is the greatest player in club history.

Ronaldo is Los Blancos’ all-time leading goalscorer with 451 goals in 438 appearances. The Portugal international won four of his five Ballon d’Or awards while representing the Spanish giants and broke just about every goalscoring record for the club, La Liga and the Champions League.

Individual accolades aside, Ronaldo also helped Real Madrid add four Champions League titles, two La Liga titles and 10 other honors to their trophy cabinet.

Forging his own path and identity in the place where his father became a legend is a tall task for anyone, let alone Ronaldo Jr, who is still just a teenager. He could take inspiration, though, from Marcelo’s 16-year-old son Enzo Alves, who signed his first professional contract with Real Madrid back in January.

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La Fábrica Producing More and More Stars

Fede Valverde has unlocked a new gear under Álvaro Arbeloa. | Diego Souto/Getty Images

Barcelona’s La Masia has a better reputation of producing some of the best homegrown talents in Spain over the last decade, but La Fábrica in not far behind these days. Current captain Federico Valverde is a graduate from the club’s youth ranks and already has two Champions League titles to his name.

New boss Álvaro Arbeloa, who previously managed Real Madrid Castilla, awarded 18-year-old Thiago Pitarch a place in his XI during the team’s injury crisis, one that the midfielder has already earned tenfold.

Then there are the stars that ultimately took their talents elsewhere, like Paris Saint-Germain standout Achraf Hakimi and Atlético Madrid’s Marcos Llorente. Nico Paz is also lighting up Serie A for Como, but the Argentine is expected to return to the Bernabéu this summer.

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