Mallorca's Romero, 15, becomes youngest La Liga soccer player to make debut

June 25 (UPI) -- Mallorca forward Luka Romero, 15, became the youngest player to make a La Liga debut when he entered in the 83rd minute of the Spanish side's 2-0 loss to Real Madrid.

Romero came on as a substitute for Iddrisu Baba late in the second half of Mallorca's setback Wednesday at Alfredo di Stefano Stadium in Madrid.

The Argentine broke the previous record set by Francisco Bao Rodriguez. Rodriguez, also known as 'Sanson,' was 36 days older than Romero when he made his debut for Celta Vigo in 1939.

"What you try to do is calm him down," Mallorca manager Vicente Moreno told reporters. "He's a 15-year-old boy. The most important thing is that he's here because he deserves to be.

"Before I walked in, I put my hand on his chest and he was going 3,000 miles an hour. He's done very well and he's been very aggressive."

Vinicius Junior, 19, and Sergio Ramos each scored for Madrid in Wednesday's win. Madrid now leads Barcelona atop the La Liga standings. Mallorca sits in 18th and is in danger of relegation.

Romero has only trained with Mallorca's first team since May. He spent time in the club's youth academy before he was called up to the senior team instead of the B team. Romero was an unused substitute in games against Villarreal and Leganes before his debut.

Romero trained at the academy at Formentera before he joined Mallorca. He has drawn interest from Madrid and Barcelona. He is eligible to play for the Mexican, Spanish and Argentine national teams but prefers to represent Argentina.

Mallorca battles Athletic Bilbao at 8 a.m. EDT Saturday at San Mames Stadium in Balibao, Spain. Madrid faces Espanyol at 4 p.m. EDT Sunday at RCDE Stadium in Barcelona.