Lamini Fati is the Newest Real Madrid Player

On Wednesday, Leganés officially confirmed what had long been speculated: the young central defender, Lamini Fati, is joining Real Madrid’s youth academy.

Real Madrid has triggered Fati’s release clause, securing the 18-year-old central defender from Leganés.

The Real Madrid academy has made a new signing for 2025. Fati had already reached an agreement with the club to leave Leganés as soon as the new year began, allowing him to join the various youth teams of the Blancos. This move marks the beginning of a promising future for the club’s lower divisions, with important goals set for both the first team and Castilla in the second half of the season. This is all part of an expedited operation, which has now been confirmed.

The central defender, who has played for Leganés’ second team, will now join Real Madrid’s youth system for an adaptation period. This doesn’t mean he’ll immediately feature with the first team. His primary destinations will be Real Madrid Castilla and Madrid C, where he will continue his development. The player is used to playing in the third tier of Spanish football and has joined Real Madrid for an amount close to his release clause with Leganés. It was financially unfeasible for Leganés to retain him, and Real Madrid had been closely monitoring his progress.

The club paid 100,000 euros to secure Fati’s transfer, although additional details or bonuses could be involved. The young talent had been making waves in Spain’s youth leagues and had even received an offer from Valencia in recent months to leave Butarque. Born in Spain with African roots, the 18-year-old arrives at Real Madrid in a deal that Leganés sees as financially beneficial, considering everything previously mentioned.

A Relentless Interest The reality is that Real Madrid had been searching for central defenders for their Castilla squad. Leganés has been producing top talent in recent years, and Real Madrid saw this signing as essential before another club from Spain’s first or second division paid the mentioned amount for the promising young player. The left-footed central defender will join the club’s second squad, and possibly the third team, as they await his arrival at the Valdebebas training complex.

This is unlikely to be the last signing for Real Madrid’s academy during the winter transfer window, as the club views securing the survival of Castilla as vital for the long-term project. Should either team in the lower divisions fail to achieve their promotion objectives, it could significantly impact player contracts and long-term planning, which aims to provide several assets for the first team. Lamini Fati is now officially a Real Madrid player.

Official Statement from Leganés:
C.D. Leganés and Real Madrid C.F. have agreed on the transfer of 18-year-old Lamini Fati. The young talent will leave Leganés’ ranks to continue his career with the white team.

Lamini joined Leganés at the youth level, progressing through all the academy teams. During the 2023/24 season, he was part of the Juvenil ‘A’ squad, which finished third in the División de Honor league and reached the quarterfinals of the Juvenil Copa del Rey.

This season, with the Leganés B-team, he has played over 900 minutes, scoring one goal in the 13th matchday of the Tercera Federación.

The club wishes him the best of luck in this new stage of his career.