Pirri

Lore & Background

Born in Ceuta, Pirri signed for Real Madrid in 1964 as a 19-year-old, from Segunda División club Granada who received 200 million pesetas. He made his debut with the former on 8 November of that year as a replacement for the suspended Ferenc Puskás, in a 4–1 home win against Barcelona. He scored the first of his 123 goals in La Liga later that month, contributing to a 2–0 home victory over Deportivo de La Coruña also at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.

During his tenure at Real, Pirri won ten national championships, netting in double digits in five of those seasons including a career-best 13 goals in 1975–76. He added nine appearances in the 1965–66 European Cup (for a total of 57 with 18 goals in the competition), including the final against Partizan (2–1 win in Brussels); he was part of a generation of players of the team dubbed Yé-Yé. In 1980, Pirri joined Mexican Liga MX side Puebla. He scored his first goal for them on 28 September, in a 2–0 home defeat of Atletas Campesinos.

Pirri retired from the game at the age of 37 due his club's poor economic situation, even though he had one year more running in his contract. He then completed his studies to qualify as a physician, and joined Real Madrid's medical staff; in late December 1999, he was named their general manager after Jorge Valdano (who later replaced him) rejected the offer. On 17 July 2023, Pirri was appointed as honorary president of Real Madrid.

Reader's Guide

Pirri was well known for his ferocity, leadership skills and versatility. Other than his two main positions, he was also deployed as a makeshift forward.

Did You Know?

• He won 15 titles with Real Madrid, including ten La Liga championships and one European Cup.
• He scored his first La Liga goal later in November 1964 in a 2–0 home win against Deportivo de La Coruña.