As most of you might be able to tell, I have a thing for Spaniards. Also for footballers with a good hair and a good sense of fashion. That’s why this week I picked Esteban Granero, also known as “Pirata” to Real Madrid fans, for the Midweek Muscles post.

Since Real Madrid was in my city, Los Angeles, for a little over a week and they play a friendly tonight, I thought it was only natural to pick someone on that team. Granero happens to be my favorite player on the squad. In fact, this week, I was lucky enough to meet him and have him sign my Granero jersey, which was just incredible!

Unless you’re a major Real Madrid fan, you might not know who he is. Most people know Iker Casillas, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, or Xabi Alonso. Esteban joined Real Madrid’s youth team when he was 8 years old and was with Real Madrid until 2007, when he went to Getafe (another football club in Madrid). He came back to Real Madrid in 2009 and has been the with the team ever since.

He’s not only a good footballer, he’s also one of the few that is into literature and psychology.  In fact, he was studying psychology at a university, but had to move to a private one as time went on.  One reason Madrid fans really like him is because of the love he has for the club. The way he talks about the Real Madrid makes us Madridistas very happy and proud of him.

Enjoy the pics!

If you want to know more about him, you can read this interview he recently did. It’s in Spanish, but you can always google translate it (though it’s not always accurate).