Real Madrid has decided to dispense with the services of Itziar González and her team for the current season. The nutritionist and creator of physiogenomics joined the team last season, and just one year later, the club has decided to end their professional relationship.
Itziar González, key to athletic performance
Itziar González is a nutritionist who has made a name for herself in the world of sports, especially for treating soccer players such as Dani Carvajal and Sergio Canales. The nutritionist is the creator of physiogenomics, a technique that combines physical therapy, osteopathy, therapeutic nutrition, and nutrigenomics.
Dani Carvajal has been working with the nutritionist for years, taking care of his diet. The Leganés native suffered countless muscle injuries in the past, but everything changed when he put himself in González’s hands. Since they began working together, his muscle injuries have completely disappeared and his physical performance has improved considerably. In the 2023-2024 season, he had his best season in white, delivering a superlative performance that earned him a nomination for the Ballon d’Or, as he was a key player in the last Champions League (scoring a goal in the final) and instrumental in Spain’s Euro Cup victory last summer.
His arrival at Real Madrid
The merits of Itziar González caught the attention of the medical services at Real Madrid, and given the large number of muscle injuries suffered by the players in the squad, the club decided to hire her services at the beginning of last season. She did not come alone, as she brought with her some members of her team, nutritionists specialising in high-performance sports.
During these months, her team has been present at every single event involving the players, both in training and in matches, taking care of and supervising every meal that each member of the first team had to eat.
The club changes course
Last Monday, like the rest of the squad, Itziar González and her team were due to report to the Valdebebas training ground to start the new Real Madrid season. However, the club informed the nutritionist and her team that their services would no longer be required for the new season.
At the moment, the reasons for the dismissal are unknown, but it is known that Real Madrid has decided to completely change the club’s medical services and has also dispensed with many of the club’s physiotherapists. Felipe Segura, head of medical services, was reportedly in charge of the new hires, and the club’s goal is to reduce the number of injuries, which has not decreased in recent years and has been a problem in recent seasons.
Just one year after her arrival, the nutritionist who changed the career of Dani Carvajal and his team are leaving Real Madrid by decision of the club, which is looking to restructure its medical services and has reportedly designed a new roadmap for the current season. The change is striking given the short time she has spent at the club, with hardly any time to measure the real impact of a system that has proven its worth in elite sport on an individual level, with the Real Madrid captain and Canales, among others.