A rising star at Real Madrid now faces criminal case
On Wednesday, it was officially confirmed that Raul Asencio , a 22-year-old Real Madrid defender who has become a key figure in Carlo Ancelotti ’s squad, could face criminal proceedings over allegations that he shared a sex tape involving a minor.
The investigation stems from a June 2023 incident in Gran Canaria, where several youth players from Madrid were on holiday. The case involves allegations of a non-consensual recording of a sexual encounter between players and two girls, one of them under the age of 16, and the alleged sharing of that footage without the girls’ consent. Spanish authorities are now moving toward trial after an extensive investigation.
Asencio has made a rapid ascent at Real Madrid, having been promoted from the ‘B’ team (Castilla) amid a defensive injury crisis. He has started 40 matches across all competitions this season, including crucial Champions League clashes against Manchester City, Atletico Madrid, and Arsenal. He also featured in Madrid’s 2-1 win against Real Mallorca at the Santiago Bernabéu on Wednesday, the same day the court’s findings were made public.
The Athletic, which spoke to multiple sources with direct knowledge of the case (all of whom requested anonymity due to the legal sensitivity), has broken down the allegations, legal proceedings, and the broader fallout, both within Spain and at Real Madrid.
The allegations, what happened in Gran Canaria?
The events under investigation occurred on June 15, 2023, at the Amadores Beach Club in Puerto Rico, a town on the island of Gran Canaria, where five Real Madrid youth players were vacationing. According to reports reviewed by The Athletic, a consensual sexual encounter took place between three of the players and two girls. One of the girls was 18 years old, the other under 16.
The legal case focuses on the alleged recording of the encounter on a mobile phone — reportedly without consent — and the distribution of that footage, again without the girls’ consent.
The younger girl and her mother filed a formal complaint on September 6, 2023, at a Guardia Civil station in Santa Maria de Guia, near Las Palmas. A second complaint followed from the 18-year-old. Their testimonies, which were leaked to Spanish media, allege that the girls found out about the recording on the same day it occurred and asked the players to delete the footage.
In an anonymous interview with Diario AS in September 2023, one of the girls said the players promised to delete the footage but instead, “transferred it to other mobiles.” According to the girls’ statements, they only discovered in August that the footage still existed when a boyfriend of a friend, also in Madrid’s C team, told them he had seen the video.
Following these revelations, on September 15, several plainclothes officers from the Guardia Civil arrived at Real Madrid’s training facilities. There, they arrested Ferran Ruiz, Juan Rodriguez , and Andres Garcia, and questioned Asencio — initially as a witness. However, during the interrogation, Asencio's status changed to that of a formal suspect.
Legal developments and the charges
According to court documents cited by The Athletic, Ruiz, Rodriguez, and Garcia face charges related to the recording and distribution of sexual content involving a minor and another woman. Asencio is charged only with allegedly sharing the footage — not recording or disseminating it himself.
On Wednesday, a Gran Canaria court announced that its investigation phase had concluded, listing potential charges that include:
Discovery of secrets without consent and violation of privacy
Distribution of videos without victims’ consent
Recruitment or use of minors for pornographic purposes
Possession of sexual material involving minors
The Athletic previously reported in February 2025 that a Spanish court had rejected an appeal from Asencio seeking provisional dismissal of the case. During that appeal, it was confirmed in court documents that one of the girls involved was under 16.
An early judicial error, reported widely in the Spanish press, had wrongly stated that Asencio faced the same charges as the other three. That was later corrected by the judge to reflect that Asencio is accused only of sharing the footage, not recording or distributing it.
Asencio’s public statement and club position
Until recently, Asencio had largely stayed silent. In March, when called up to the Spain national team for the first time, he gave a brief comment to Television Española:
“Everyone is very aware of what they are doing, so I am very calm.”
But on Thursday evening, following growing media coverage, Asencio issued a formal public statement, which was widely shared by Spanish outlets:
“I have not participated in any behavior that violated the sexual freedom of any woman, much less of minors.”
“The court order, as far as I am concerned, limits its content to the possible momentary viewing of some images by a third party, without attributing to me any participation in their recording or dissemination.”
“The accusation made against me, as expressly stated in the court decision itself, is strictly provisional in nature. Therefore, the presumption of innocence must continue to prevail.”
“In the event that charges are finally brought and an oral trial is opened, I will continue to exercise my defence before the Courts and Tribunals, in which I maintain full confidence, reaffirming that I am not involved in any criminal conduct.”
Will Asencio continue to play?
Despite the ongoing legal case, Asencio continues to feature for Real Madrid, largely due to an injury crisis in the backline. First-choice defenders Eder Militao, Antonio Rudiger, and David Alaba have all been sidelined, and Asencio has remained part of the starting lineup.
According to The Athletic, the only time he was dropped from a matchday squad was December 21, 2023, when he had to testify the following day.
Madrid, which issued a brief statement in September 2023 confirming that four youth players had given statements to authorities, has not commented publicly since. Club sources have repeatedly pointed to Spain’s principle of presumption of innocence.
Asencio is eligible to play in the revamped FIFA Club World Cup, and sources at the Spanish FA suggest he faces no barriers to being called up again, despite the case. However, Spain coach Luis de la Fuente is expected to stick with his regular defenders, including Aymeric Laporte, Pau Cubarsí, Dani Vivian , and Robin Le Normand .
Fan reactions and political silence
The scandal has ignited furious responses from fans at stadiums across Spain. During a Clasico match, Barcelona supporters chanted: “Asencio, to jail.” At a Copa del Rey semi-final in March at Real Sociedad’s Reale Arena, fans chanted: “Asencio die.”
That game was temporarily stopped by referee Jose Maria Sanchez Martinez after Vinicius Junior activated La Liga’s anti-hate protocol. A stadium announcement warned fans against further abuse. The same protocol was invoked in a match against Deportivo Alaves.
Manager Carlo Ancelotti, when asked whether he considered resting Asencio to protect him, replied:
“No, no, no. This (the insults) is what shouldn’t be happening.”
Despite widespread public scrutiny, no political or institutional body has issued a formal statement about the case, as legal proceedings have not yet reached trial.
Key timeline of events
June 15, 2023 – Incident occurs at Amadores Beach Club, Gran Canaria
September 6, 2023 – First complaint filed by underage girl and mother
September 15, 2023 – Three players arrested; Asencio questioned
December 21, 2023 – Asencio withdrawn from Madrid squad to testify
February 2025 – Appeal to dismiss Asencio’s case is rejected
May 14, 2025 – Court confirms investigation complete; possible trial
May 15, 2025 – Asencio issues public statement
With Inputs from: The Athletic
On Wednesday, it was officially confirmed that Raul Asencio , a 22-year-old Real Madrid defender who has become a key figure in Carlo Ancelotti ’s squad, could face criminal proceedings over allegations that he shared a sex tape involving a minor.
The investigation stems from a June 2023 incident in Gran Canaria, where several youth players from Madrid were on holiday. The case involves allegations of a non-consensual recording of a sexual encounter between players and two girls, one of them under the age of 16, and the alleged sharing of that footage without the girls’ consent. Spanish authorities are now moving toward trial after an extensive investigation.
Asencio has made a rapid ascent at Real Madrid, having been promoted from the ‘B’ team (Castilla) amid a defensive injury crisis. He has started 40 matches across all competitions this season, including crucial Champions League clashes against Manchester City, Atletico Madrid, and Arsenal. He also featured in Madrid’s 2-1 win against Real Mallorca at the Santiago Bernabéu on Wednesday, the same day the court’s findings were made public.
The Athletic, which spoke to multiple sources with direct knowledge of the case (all of whom requested anonymity due to the legal sensitivity), has broken down the allegations, legal proceedings, and the broader fallout, both within Spain and at Real Madrid.
The allegations, what happened in Gran Canaria?
The events under investigation occurred on June 15, 2023, at the Amadores Beach Club in Puerto Rico, a town on the island of Gran Canaria, where five Real Madrid youth players were vacationing. According to reports reviewed by The Athletic, a consensual sexual encounter took place between three of the players and two girls. One of the girls was 18 years old, the other under 16.
The legal case focuses on the alleged recording of the encounter on a mobile phone — reportedly without consent — and the distribution of that footage, again without the girls’ consent.
The younger girl and her mother filed a formal complaint on September 6, 2023, at a Guardia Civil station in Santa Maria de Guia, near Las Palmas. A second complaint followed from the 18-year-old. Their testimonies, which were leaked to Spanish media, allege that the girls found out about the recording on the same day it occurred and asked the players to delete the footage.
In an anonymous interview with Diario AS in September 2023, one of the girls said the players promised to delete the footage but instead, “transferred it to other mobiles.” According to the girls’ statements, they only discovered in August that the footage still existed when a boyfriend of a friend, also in Madrid’s C team, told them he had seen the video.
Following these revelations, on September 15, several plainclothes officers from the Guardia Civil arrived at Real Madrid’s training facilities. There, they arrested Ferran Ruiz, Juan Rodriguez , and Andres Garcia, and questioned Asencio — initially as a witness. However, during the interrogation, Asencio's status changed to that of a formal suspect.
Legal developments and the charges
According to court documents cited by The Athletic, Ruiz, Rodriguez, and Garcia face charges related to the recording and distribution of sexual content involving a minor and another woman. Asencio is charged only with allegedly sharing the footage — not recording or disseminating it himself.
On Wednesday, a Gran Canaria court announced that its investigation phase had concluded, listing potential charges that include:
Discovery of secrets without consent and violation of privacy
Distribution of videos without victims’ consent
Recruitment or use of minors for pornographic purposes
Possession of sexual material involving minors
The Athletic previously reported in February 2025 that a Spanish court had rejected an appeal from Asencio seeking provisional dismissal of the case. During that appeal, it was confirmed in court documents that one of the girls involved was under 16.
An early judicial error, reported widely in the Spanish press, had wrongly stated that Asencio faced the same charges as the other three. That was later corrected by the judge to reflect that Asencio is accused only of sharing the footage, not recording or distributing it.
Asencio’s public statement and club position
Until recently, Asencio had largely stayed silent. In March, when called up to the Spain national team for the first time, he gave a brief comment to Television Española:
“Everyone is very aware of what they are doing, so I am very calm.”
But on Thursday evening, following growing media coverage, Asencio issued a formal public statement, which was widely shared by Spanish outlets:
“I have not participated in any behavior that violated the sexual freedom of any woman, much less of minors.”
“The court order, as far as I am concerned, limits its content to the possible momentary viewing of some images by a third party, without attributing to me any participation in their recording or dissemination.”
“The accusation made against me, as expressly stated in the court decision itself, is strictly provisional in nature. Therefore, the presumption of innocence must continue to prevail.”
“In the event that charges are finally brought and an oral trial is opened, I will continue to exercise my defence before the Courts and Tribunals, in which I maintain full confidence, reaffirming that I am not involved in any criminal conduct.”
Will Asencio continue to play?
Despite the ongoing legal case, Asencio continues to feature for Real Madrid, largely due to an injury crisis in the backline. First-choice defenders Eder Militao, Antonio Rudiger, and David Alaba have all been sidelined, and Asencio has remained part of the starting lineup.
According to The Athletic, the only time he was dropped from a matchday squad was December 21, 2023, when he had to testify the following day.
Madrid, which issued a brief statement in September 2023 confirming that four youth players had given statements to authorities, has not commented publicly since. Club sources have repeatedly pointed to Spain’s principle of presumption of innocence.
Asencio is eligible to play in the revamped FIFA Club World Cup, and sources at the Spanish FA suggest he faces no barriers to being called up again, despite the case. However, Spain coach Luis de la Fuente is expected to stick with his regular defenders, including Aymeric Laporte, Pau Cubarsí, Dani Vivian , and Robin Le Normand .
Fan reactions and political silence
The scandal has ignited furious responses from fans at stadiums across Spain. During a Clasico match, Barcelona supporters chanted: “Asencio, to jail.” At a Copa del Rey semi-final in March at Real Sociedad’s Reale Arena, fans chanted: “Asencio die.”
That game was temporarily stopped by referee Jose Maria Sanchez Martinez after Vinicius Junior activated La Liga’s anti-hate protocol. A stadium announcement warned fans against further abuse. The same protocol was invoked in a match against Deportivo Alaves.
Manager Carlo Ancelotti, when asked whether he considered resting Asencio to protect him, replied:
“No, no, no. This (the insults) is what shouldn’t be happening.”
Despite widespread public scrutiny, no political or institutional body has issued a formal statement about the case, as legal proceedings have not yet reached trial.
Key timeline of events
June 15, 2023 – Incident occurs at Amadores Beach Club, Gran Canaria
September 6, 2023 – First complaint filed by underage girl and mother
September 15, 2023 – Three players arrested; Asencio questioned
December 21, 2023 – Asencio withdrawn from Madrid squad to testify
February 2025 – Appeal to dismiss Asencio’s case is rejected
May 14, 2025 – Court confirms investigation complete; possible trial
May 15, 2025 – Asencio issues public statement
With Inputs from: The Athletic
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