Grimaldo dreams of playing for a LaLiga heavyweight

Luis de la Fuente's call reaches Grimaldo at the height of his footballing maturity. At 30 years old, the defender is among the 26 selected for the World Cup in North America after establishing himself as a regular since his debut with La Roja in 2023. He has 12 international caps and arrives with figures that are unusual for a full-back: 14 goals and 12 assists this season.

The Leverkusen player did not take the announcement of the squad list with indifference. He was on holiday and followed the call-up from his phone, aware that nothing is guaranteed in the national team. “It will be my first World Cup! It's my dream and I'm going to make it come true”, he said, after admitting that even for those who have been making the lists for some time, everything can still change.

The sight of the King in the announcement also surprised him, although Grimaldo understood it as a gesture of unity around the national team. The memory of 2010 is still very present for him: he watched Spain win the final in Valencia, surrounded by family and friends, at a time when he was still a young footballer who looked up to Messi as his great idol and also admired Iniesta and Xavi.

A healthy competition with Cucurella

One of the focuses of the call-up is at left-back, where Grimaldo shares the spot with Marc Cucurella. The Bayer player played down any reading of internal rivalry and stressed the good rapport between the two. “We have a very good relationship, he is the one I talk to the most! First and foremost, it's Spain”, he said.

He is also not bothered by talk of Spain being a contender. Grimaldo does not see that label as a burden, but as a consequence of the level of the group. “The word 'favourites' doesn't put pressure on us; we know we have a team to win the World Cup”, he said before starting the camp in Las Rozas.

His development in Germany explains much of this present. At Bayer Leverkusen, he has increased his attacking output without neglecting his defensive work: the original text highlights that he has won 71% of his defensive duels in the Bundesliga and that he recovers more than four balls per match. To that he adds a strike he has worked on for years, inspired above all by videos of Juninho Pernambucano, although he has also watched Cristiano Ronaldo and Bale.

Grimaldo recalled that he started out playing in the midfield at the Valencia before going through Barcelona's youth system, where he was converted into a full-back. He left for Benfica at 19 after seeing that it would be difficult for him to break into Barcelona's first team, and there he found the space he needed to grow.

His later step up to the Bayer had a lot to do with Xabi Alonso. Grimaldo explained that the coach backed him strongly, that they spoke several times, and that he was looking for a project in a powerful league to show himself in Europe. The move, according to the player himself, was key to reaching the national team: “Xabi put a lot of faith in me; he is going to be one of the best coaches in the world”.