Real Madrid have in Gonzalo García a classic centre-forward, a pure penalty-box finisher, something they often lack when Kylian Mbappé plays. The Frenchman operates largely outside the area and his qualities and numbers compensate for almost everything, but at times you simply need an old-fashioned target man. Gonzalo provides exactly that.
We saw it against Real Sociedad. He read Trent Alexander-Arnold’s intentions perfectly and, with a delicate touch, opened the scoring.
It was not his only opportunity. He finished the match with four shots and could easily have scored twice, but accuracy or luck deserted him. Still, it was another start and another goal. He now has six goals and two assists, involvement in eight goals across 950 minutes, which works out at one every 119 minutes. Those figures show that with Gonzalo on the pitch, Real Madrid retain their attacking edge.
Gonzalo made the step up to the first team last summer at the FIFA Club World Cup, where he finished as top scorer with five goals. That run convinced Xabi Alonso and the club that he could be part of Real Madrid’s plans. The Tolosa native even placed him ahead of Endrick in the rotation, to the point that the Brazilian sought a move to Lyon, where he now enjoys the minutes he lacked in white.
That Club World Cup was held in the United States, and fittingly, this summer’s FIFA World Cup 2026 will also take place there, alongside Canada and Mexico. It represents the next big challenge for the Real Madrid academy product if he manages to secure a regular role under Álvaro Arbeloa. Becoming a starter for Real Madrid while Mbappé is fit will not be easy, but Gonzalo is proving that he can do a lot with very little.
That matters because Luis de la Fuente does not have a clear-cut option at centre-forward. Mikel Oyarzabal, the current starter, is not that type of player, nor is Ferran Torres. Samu Omorodion, who had emerged as the leading candidate after scoring 20 goals, has been ruled out by a cruciate ligament injury. The race is now more open than ever.