Real Madrid announce record academy sale of Jacobo Ortega to Strasbourg

Real Madrid have announced the departure of teenage striker Jacobo Ortega to French club Strasbourg in what has been reported as the most expensive sale in the history of the club’s academy, La Fabrica, involving a player who never appeared for the senior side.

Spanish reports say Strasbourg will pay €10m for Ortega, although Real Madrid did not disclose the financial terms in its announcement. If confirmed, the fee would set a new record for a La Fabrica player who did not make a first-team appearance for the Spanish club.

Ortega joined Real Madrid in 2018, aged 12, and spent eight seasons within the club’s youth system. His departure comes after a successful 2025-26 campaign in which he helped Real Madrid’s youth team win the UEFA Youth League.

In a statement confirming the move, Real Madrid said: “Real Madrid will always be his home, and we thank Jacobo Ortega for his dedication throughout the years he has spent as part of our club. Real Madrid wishes him and his family all the best in this new stage of his life.”

The 190cm forward is primarily used as a striker. During the previous season, Ortega made 56 appearances, scoring 18 goals and also registering assists, although no number was given for his assists.

The move to Strasbourg represents a significant step in the career of a player who has spent almost all of his footballing development at Real Madrid. Ortega joined the academy as a 12-year-old and remained there through eight seasons, progressing within one of the most prominent youth systems in European football.

His final season in Madrid included the major achievement of winning the UEFA Youth League with the club’s youth side. That success and his individual record of 18 goals in 56 matches helped raise his profile before the move to France.

Real Madrid’s statement focused on Ortega’s long association with the club and expressed its support for the next stage of his career. The academy has produced a number of players who have gone on to establish themselves elsewhere, but the reported €10m fee would make Ortega’s transfer the highest-value sale from La Fabrica for a player who did not play for Real Madrid’s first team.

Strasbourg will now become the next club in Ortega’s development. The French side have secured a young forward who has been developed by Real Madrid since childhood, while Ortega leaves Spain after completing his youth career with the club and winning a European title at academy level.