Dani Carvajal

Real Madrid Castilla

Carvajal was born in Leganés, a suburb of Madrid. He joined Real Madrid's youth system as a 10-year-old, and continued climbing through the ranks until reaching Real Madrid Castilla in 2010. In his first season as a senior, Carvajal was immediately cast in the reserve team's starting XI, also being the team's captain. In the following campaign, he fared even better (38 games and two goals, playoffs included), as the Bs returned to Segunda División after a five-year absence.

Bayer Leverkusen

On 11 July 2012, after failing to make a single appearance for Real's first team, Carvajal signed a five-year contract with Germany's Bayer Leverkusen for a transfer fee of €5 million. The Spaniards added on a buy-back clause in the region of €6.5 million if they wanted to re-sign the player after one season, €7 million after two and approximately €8.5 million after three. Carvajal made his Bundesliga debut on 1 September 2012 in a 2–0 home win against SC Freiburg, being subsequently named to the Team of the Week. He scored his first goal for his new club on 25 November, netting the second in an eventual 2–1 success at TSG Hoffenheim. Carvajal was selected as one of the three best right backs at the end of his first and only season, behind Bayern Munich's Phillip Lahm and Schalke 04's Atsuto Uchida. He received 16% of the total vote from the fans.

Real Madrid

On 3 June 2013, Real Madrid exercised their buy-back option on Carvajal, who…

Youth

Carvajal acted as backup to FC Barcelona's Martín Montoya at the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, playing in the 3–0 group stage win against the Netherlands as Spain went on to win the tournament. He was selected by full side manager Vicente del Bosque for his 30-man provisional squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, being excused alongside all other Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid players from the warm-up game against Bolivia on 30 May due to the Champions League final, and being omitted from the final list the following day.

Senior

On 29 August 2014, Carvajal received his first call-up to the Spanish senior squad for friendly matches against France and Macedonia. He debuted on 4 September in a 0–1 friendly loss to the former in which he played the full 90 minutes. In May 2016, Carvajal was selected in the Spain squad for UEFA Euro 2016. However, on 30 May, he withdrew from the squad with a hamstring injury. Carvajal was named in Spain's final squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. After sitting out the first game against Portugal as he was not fully fit, he made his first appearance in the competition on 20 June and played the entire 1–0 win over Iran. He retained his place in the starting line-up for the final Group B fixture against Morocco, assisting Iago Aspas' stoppage time equaliser in the 2–2 draw. In the round of 16 loss to Russia, Carvajal appeared as a 70th-minute substitute for Nacho Fernández.

He once again missed out on the European…

Carvajal is known for his consistency, aggressive style, and his ability to assist his team both in defence and attack. A tenacious and tactically intelligent player, defensively he is known for his positioning, mentality, tackling, anticipation, and ability to intercept loose balls. Going forward, he also possesses excellent technical skills and crossing, as well as an ability to get forward with his overlapping runs due to this awareness. In terms of his physical qualities, he also stands out for his speed, energy, and work-rate, despite his diminutive stature. He is also highly regarded for his leadership qualities. Despite his ability, he has often struggled with injuries throughout his career. Brazilian former right-back Cafu described Carvajal as one of the best right-backs in the world in 2018.

Carvajal is married to Daphne Cañizares, with whom he has a child. His wife's twin sister Melanie is married to Carvajal's former Madrid teammate Joselu. His father is an inspector in the National Police. On 8 April 2026, Carvajal was put under investigation by a judge in Andorra for allegations of illegal watch smuggling.