Chema Andrés: The Real Madrid-raised midfielder keeping calm amid Rodri comparisons

Stuttgart, Germany — On a rain-slicked afternoon at the Mercedes-Benz Arena, Chema Andrés blends into the swarm of red-and-white shirts warming down after training. No entourage, no neon boots, just the same measured stride that persuaded VfB Stuttgart to invest €5 million up front — and potentially another €1 million — in a 20-year-old defensive midfielder last summer.

Twelve months on, the Valencia native has 32 senior appearances, two goals, two assists and, more importantly, a growing reputation as the latest in Spain’s endless production line of poised, positionally astute midfielders. Headlines have already bracketed him with Rodri, Manchester City’s Ballon d’Or winner and Spain’s metronome. Andrés shrugs.

“Those comparisons come from you guys,” he tells The Athletic, smiling. “They’re more about our physical profile — 6ft 2in, positional style — but he’s still miles ahead. Hopefully one day I can reach his level. They don’t affect me at all.”

The parallels are tempting: both grew up on Spain’s eastern seaboard, both favour patience over pyrotechnics, and both spent formative years in La Liga academies before stepping onto the European stage. Yet Andrés’s path has already detoured through three of Real Madrid’s most storied recent figures: Raúl, Xabi Alonso and Álvaro Arbeloa.

From 2017-2025 he progressed through La Fábrica, Madrid’s fabled academy, collecting tactical lessons and life advice in equal measure. Arbeloa, his under-19 coach from 2022-24, earns the warmest praise. “I wasn’t playing much, I was struggling, and he told me exactly why. He’s the best communicator I’ve had.”

Raúl, who oversaw Castilla for the final two years of Andrés’s academy journey, “trusted me when I needed it most”, while Alonso’s single season with the under-14s left a memory of post-training pizzas and dressing-room unity. All three, Andrés says, share “the hunger to win” that defines Madrid.

That winning mentality was never more evident than in January 2025 when, under Carlo Ancelotti, Andrés made his senior debut in the Copa del Rey. Three first-team appearances followed, but with Federico Valverde, Jude Bellingham and Aurélien Tchouaméni ahead of him, regular minutes looked remote. Stuttgart’s call — and coach Sebastian Hoeneß’s personal pitch — offered a bridge to professional stability.

The Bundesliga has asked more of him than Madrid ever did. Stuttgart’s high-octane system demands box-to-box mobility; Andrés has responded by adding three-to-four kilograms of muscle and covering more ground per match than in any previous season. “Last year I didn’t score at all; this year I have two. If I’d been more clinical, it could be more,” he admits.

On international duty with Spain’s under-21s — he has five caps since September — he is equally pragmatic about the senior squad. “Rodri, Zubimendi… the level is the highest in the world. My role is to qualify for the under-21 Euros. Playing for the senior team is a dream, but you have to keep a level head.”

That level-headedness extends to transfer talk. Madrid inserted a 50 per cent buy-back clause, and speculation flares each time Stuttgart’s third-placed side catches the eye. Andrés has instructed his agent to keep him in the dark until the season ends. “I’m very happy at Stuttgart,” he insists, though he jokes with team-mate Angelo Stiller about who might leave for the Bernabéu first.

For now, Andrés’s focus is narrower: Sunday’s opponent, the next interception, the next late run into the box. Low-key, cheerful and resolutely unaffected by the Rodri rhetoric, the 20-year-old is content to let his football speak — calmly, steadily, and on his own terms.