I'm in shock in Japan! 9-year-old Real Madrid's best prodigy in the history of joining the team, notifying him of his release after 12 years → It is unclear whether he will return to Japan

Aug 21, 2025

I'm in shock in Japan! 9-year-old Real Madrid's best prodigy in the history of joining the team, notifying him of his release after 12 years → It is unclear whether he will return to Japan
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A player who was once recognized as Japan's best prodigy is in a career crisis.

The Japanese Football Channel reported on the 21st (Korea Standard Time) 'Japanese players who played on overseas stages until the last season but have not found a team at the moment.

There is also Takehiro Tomiyasu, who was released by Arsenal, but this time he paid attention to Takuhiro Nakai, a promising Japanese player born in 2003. Nakai was a genius prospect who heard a child prodigy in Japan. It was in 2013 when he was taken from Real. Nakai recruited even before graduating from elementary school.




The Football Channel announced that Nakai entered the European stage in 2013 when he signed with Real at the age of just nine. Spanish media also showed great interest in the fact that a Japanese elementary school student joined hands with a world-class prestigious club. He took steps step by step in the club's youth system and demonstrated his talent by being promoted to an upper-age team faster than his peers. He often joined the first-team training and explained that he had gathered expectations for the 'future of Real'
I'm in shock in Japan! 9-year-old Real Madrid's best prodigy in the history of joining the team, notifying him of his release after 12 years → It is unclear whether he will return to Japan
Photo =Tokyo Weekender
He then played for Castilla, a reserve team, from the 2022-2023 season and sought to enter the first division. But the reality was cold. He had to compete fiercely with prospects from all over the world, and the opportunity to play in the first-team stage did not come to the end. Nakai failed to enter the first team at Real to make a breakthrough.

Prospects who failed to prove at Real had to show their skills even on loan. In 2023, he left for CF Rayo Mahada, a Spanish third-division club, but failed to stand out by playing 18 league games mostly as a substitute. Real sent it back to SD Amorevietta, a third-division club, but failed again in the main competition, and was loaned back to Lasing Santander B team in Spain's fourth division during the season, but the result did not change.

In the end, Real did not extend Nakai's contract and decided to release him. Real was not a merciful club that continued to embrace players who could not stand out in Spain's third and fourth divisions.




I'm in shock in Japan! 9-year-old Real Madrid's best prodigy in the history of joining the team, notifying him of his release after 12 years → It is unclear whether he will return to Japan
사진=레알
Football Channel said 'Nakai's career is stagnant compared to initial expectations, but Nakai is still 21 years old. A scenario of a fresh start in Japan is also possible. It is unclear how much it will work in the Japanese J-League, but Nakai has experience of 'World Stage' that same-generation players do not have. Will he be able to escape from the label of a former prodigy?' he said, noting what choices Nakai would make.

Returning to the J-League is also unlikely to be easy. The J-League is one of the top leagues in Asia. The level is much higher than that of Spain's third and fourth divisions. There are not many teams that will actively give opportunities to the older 22-year-old player to be a prospect who has not adapted to such a place.






This article was translated by Naver AI translator.