Real Madrid gem Thiago Pitarch to be banned from competition if he plays against Manchester City
The young Real Madrid midfielder looks set to play against Manchester City, but he will then be exempt from another tournament.
A quirk in the UEFA rules will see Thiago Pitarch banned from a UEFA competition this season should he feature for Real Madrid against Manchester City on Wednesday.
If the midfielder plays for Real Madrid against Manchester City in the Champions League, he will have reached 3 senior appearances for the Spanish club in Europe’s elite tournament.
According to UEFA rules, if a player in the youth team reaches three games for the senior side in the elite competition, their ability to feature in the UEFA Youth League is revoked.
Given Madrid’s injury crisis and Thiago’s precocious football ability, it appears highly likely that Arbeloa will not miss out on another opportunity to use him when the Manchester club take to the pitch in the Spanish capital.
El control de Thiago Pitarch. 💫
— LALIGA (@LaLiga) March 6, 2026
CeltaRealMadrid | LALIGAEASPORTS | LALIGAHighlights pic.twitter.com/AsFKfyJFH0
The youngster featured in Real Madrid’s wins over Benfica in the previous round, a playoff tie marred by a racist incident in the first leg, with Vinicius Jr reportedly the victim of a racist attack by Gianluca Prestianni, who is said to have called him “monkey” during the game in Portugal.
Pitarch played just a few minutes in that game, coming on after the clock passed the 90 minute mark, but it was enough to count as an appearance for the first team according to UEFA. His second appearance came in the second leg, where he was an 84th minute substitute for Arbeloa, coming on in place of young forward Gonzalo García, who also came through the youth system at the club.
Since the second leg in Madrid, which was won by the 15-time European champions, Thiago has become a part of the staring XI, featuring from the off against both Getafe and Celta Vigo.
He now looks set to make it a hattrick of starts for Los Blancos, and the stakes have never been higher for the youngster thrust into the spotlight at the biggest club in world football.
2 - Thiago Pitarch 🇪🇸, aged 18 years and 211 days, becomes the second youngest Spanish player to start a @LaLigaEN match for @realmadriden ⚪️⚪️ in the 21st century, after Javi García in 2004 against Racing Santander (17 years and 314 days). Excitement. pic.twitter.com/lQWzSUABWy
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) March 2, 2026
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