Real Madrid fans confused by 'mysterious' player spotted with first-team despite not being in squad

Real Madrid fans were left baffled when they spotted a 'mystery' player in first-team training despite not being part of the squad.

After dumping reigning European champions Manchester City out at the quarter-final stage of the Champions League, Real Madrid will take on Bayern Munich in the semi-final first leg on Tuesday.

The two-legged tie promises to be one for the ages, with some of the best players in the game going head-to-head while representing two iconic clubs at two incredible stadiums.

Carlo Ancelotti has a near-full strength squad at his disposal for the first leg, minus the suspended Dani Carvajal and long-term absentees David Alaba and Thibaut Courtois.

Despite that, Madridistas notices an unfamiliar face taking part in training at the Allianz Arena ahead of the first leg in Munich.

20-year-old Jeremy De Leon travelled to Germany and took part in training despite not actually being part of Ancelotti's squad.

The soon-to-be crowned La Liga champions signed the attacker in January from Spanish third tier side Castellon, but he could not be registered to play in the Champions League knockout stages.

De Leon has made five appearances for Real Madrid Castilla this season, and it's fair to say fans were a bit confused by his appearance in first-team training.

"This mf is mysterious af, we signed him out of no where. He always appears in pictures, travels with the team even tho he’s not named in the squad," one fan commented on X.

"4 months ago he was playing on a random team from Spain," another supporter wrote, while another said: "Would be a crazy story if he got his chance due to some absences and won us an important game."

One fan went as far as to dub the Puerto Rican talent "The Puerto Rican Messi."

On Monday, Ancelotti explained why he has called De Leon up to first training on a number of occasions this season, and why he travelled with the squad to Manchester in the last round.

"We want 20 of us in training and in recent games we've called on Jeremy a few times because having spoken to Raul [Real Madrid Castilla manager], he's been very good for Castilla and he's a disciplined lad," Ancelotti said.

"He adds something to our training sessions because he's a young kid with real quality."

Featured Image Credit: Getty and Real Madrid

Topics: Real Madrid, Champions League, Bayern Munich, Carlo Ancelotti, La Liga

Alex Brotherton

Alex Brotherton is a journalist at SPORTbible. He has previously worked with publications including the Manchester Evening News, GOAL and BBC Sport. He is a football fanatic, but also dabbles in tennis and American football. He can often be found watching dreadful non-league football.

@alex_brotherton