Raul Asencio has been the breakthrough star for Real Madrid in the 2024/25 season. The Los Blancos academy graduate received his big break thanks to the ongoing defensive crisis in Carlo Ancelotti’s side leaving them without the likes of Eder Militao and David Alaba.
Asencio made his Real Madrid debut by replacing the injured Militao in the 4-0 win over Osasuna. Minutes after coming on as a substitute, he made a pitch-perfect pass to assist Jude Bellingham’s goal. He’s only gotten better from that, helping them keep four clean sheets in six matches and even producing an admirable performance against Liverpool at Anfield.
The 21-year-old, however, has been entangled in a dirty controversy over the last year or so. Asencio plied his trade for Real Madrid’s Castilla (reserves) side for a long time before getting the big promotion to the senior team. During that period, he was alleged to be part of a sex-tape scandal that continues to act as a black mark for the defending European champions.
In September 2023, three Real Madrid youth players (Ferran Ruiz, Juan Rodriguez, and Andres Garcia) were arrested on the allegation of distributing a sex tape involving two women and also explicit photographs. At the time, the Spanish club had stated that ‘a Castilla player and three Real Madrid C players’ were held for the allegations and had given statements to the Spanish authorities on the matter.
It was later alleged that Raul Asencio was the one who was called in for questioning and to act as a witness to give his testimony. Soon after that, the defender also became a part of the investigation into the matter. The young centre-back was reportedly on the verge of being a part of Real Madrid’s matchday squad for their La Liga game against Alaves on December 21, 2023 – but ended up being removed from contention because of the investigation looming over him.
In Spain, there are no rules that prohibit players who are under criminal investigation from playing football and it’s upon the clubs to decide whether to suspend those players. The three youth players who were arrested left the club in the summer of 2024, while the club’s good faith in Asencio’s innocence helped him climb through the ranks.
Asencio’s emergence into the first-team activities sparked fury about Real Madrid encouraging someone who was caught up in such a heinous investigation. The investigation, moreover, is still ongoing as a court in Gran Caria told The Athletic before Real Madrid’s 2-0 loss to Liverpool: “The judge is investigating four footballers linked to Real Madrid as alleged perpetrators of crimes of disclosure of secrets and dissemination of pornography.”
The Athletic also stated that Real Madrid acknowledged Asencio being a part of this investigation, but refused to speak on the statement from the court. The fact of the matter, for now, is that the 21-year-old centre-back has not been found guilty of actively spreading the sextape.
He was only called for a witness testimony and there is no proof that he actively aided the youth team players in sending the explicit content to anyone else. That is why Real Madrid are refusing to suspend him or keep him out of their first-team plans.
This isn’t the first such issue that the club have faced. Earlier in the 2024/25 season, Kylian Mbappe was also entangled in some controversy because of his trip to Stockholm (Sweden). Despite rumours swirling about him allegedly being part of sexual assault case on a woman in the city, Real Madrid decided to protect him by continuously playing him than being pressured into taking action.
Asencio, to his credit, has kept his head down and showcased a lot of promise with his brave, energetic displays for the Spanish giants. If he can maintain consistency with his performances and as long as he isn’t implicated to be guilty of sharing the sexual tapes, he should have a bright future ahead of him at the Santiago Bernabeu.
