Fulham's transfer move for Gonzalo García and César Palacios was not a routine academy pick-up. Álvaro Arbeloa said the pair had interest from very important teams in Europe, including clubs in European competitions, before choosing to join him at Craven Cottage.
Arbeloa, who left Real Madrid for Fulham this summer, said: "It hasn’t been easy (to sign Gonzalo Garcia and Cesar Palacios). They had many offers from very important teams in Europe, some of them playing in European competitions. The fact that they wanted to come to Fulham to work with me makes me feel very fortunate. I’m very proud to have them with me again".
Arbeloa's pitch
The move also tells you something about the project Fulham are selling. Fulham finished 11th in the Premier League in 2025 and ended the year with 52 points, while Real Madrid finished 2nd in La Liga and won 27 of 38 league matches.
That gap does not make Fulham a bigger football name than Madrid, and nobody would pretend otherwise. It does show why this is a decent endorsement of Arbeloa's pull: both players chose a London move to work with a coach they already knew.
He said of the pair: "I know them well. They are two lads with immense talent, each with their own characteristics, but they have that personality, that ambition, that self-discipline, that talent that I want in young players like them and I am sure that they will bring us a lot of joy this year and, above all, in the future".
Arsenal's 1st-place finish in the Premier League in 2025 was among the higher-profile alternatives in the mix, but Arbeloa did not name the clubs involved. What he did make clear is that Fulham had to compete for both deals, and that he sees García and Palacios as players who can help now as well as later.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
