Steve McManaman said he felt like a fraud at Real Madrid (Image: Getty)
admits he felt like a “fraud” during his time at , even though he played over 150 matches for the team and won six major trophies. The 52-year-old ex-footballer was only the second Englishman to join Los Blancos, making a move from his boyhood club, in 1999.
In his debut season with the Spanish giants, he clinched the title and netted the second goal in their 3-0 triumph over Valencia in the final. However, amid the post-match celebrations, the Bootle native couldn’t help but feel somewhat out of place.
“I knew what it meant to play for … I didn’t understand the complexities [of playing for Real Madrid],” said on the . “When I played for Madrid, a lot of the Spanish language and the Spanish newspapers, I didn’t really take much from it, because I couldn’t understand the language.”
“I remember we’d just won the Champions League and I’d only been at the club 10 months, and the lads were in the dressing room singing Spanish songs and lifting the president up in the air,” he continued. “I [joined in], but I just felt I was a bit of a fraud. I did. Because they’re all singing these Spanish songs and I just thought to myself, ‘This is just weird’.
“I got my phone and I took myself out of the dressing room and I went along the corridor and sat on the floor and listened to messages… But I wasn’t in the dressing room celebrating, because I thought it was all a bit weird.
“I remember thinking, ‘I would have loved to have done this with ‘, because I would have been right at the forefront of it all and sort of knowing all the words and really throwing myself into it. I was very much on the peripheries of all the [Madrid] celebrations just because I couldn’t understand it.”
Steve McManaman won the Champions League twice at Real Madrid (Image: Getty)
During his four years at the Bernabeu, McManaman claimed two Champions League titles, two La Liga championships, the UEFA Super Cup, and the Supercopa de España. He was a key member of Real Madrid’s legendary ‘Galacticos’ era, playing alongside icons such as Ronaldo, Luis Figo, and Zinedine Zidane.
Even now, the former England midfielder remains a beloved figure among the club’s fans. While McManaman found success on the pitch almost immediately, his transition off the field was more challenging. He candidly shared that his first year in Spain was marked by loneliness, but he eventually adapted with guidance from former player Michael Robinson, who spent several years as a player at Spanish club Osasuna.
McManaman’s stint in Madrid helped pave the way for other English players, including , , Jonathan Woodgate, and , who became the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth Englishmen to sign for Real Madrid. It now seems likely that star will become the seventh in 2025.
The 26-year-old has just six months remaining on his contract with and has already once his deal concludes at the end of the season. If the transfer happens, he will become the third player to make the direct switch from to Real Madrid, following in the footsteps of McManaman and Owen