After 285 days away from the field, Jesús Vallejo finally felt like a footballer again when Carlo Ancelotti subbed him in during the final minutes of Real Madrid’s match against Alavés, replacing Eder Militao. It was a tense 10 minutes for both the Zaragoza-born defender and his team, who were on the edge, holding on to a narrow lead. Vallejo’s performance showed signs of rust, with some imprecision in key moments, likely due to his long absence from competitive action.

When the final whistle blew, Vallejo’s teammates immediately approached him, offering hugs and expressing their joy for his return to the pitch in a Real Madrid jersey. Their support didn’t stop there, as many celebrated his comeback in a post Vallejo shared on Instagram, captioned: "Match and victory at the Bernabéu. Keep going team. Hala Madrid."

One of the standout moments from the social media comments was the use of the nickname "Sulii," which Rodrygo, Fran García, and Lucas Vázquez all used when congratulating Vallejo. The origin of this nickname is unclear, but there are two prevailing theories. The first suggests it might be a playful twist on his first name, while the second, more lighthearted theory, links it to the character "Sulley" from the movie Monsters Inc.

Interestingly, this nickname has also been used by Jude Bellingham, who shares a close friendship with Vallejo. The Zaragoza defender even gave Bellingham his coveted number ‘5’ shirt, a number previously worn by Zinedine Zidane, Bellingham’s idol. During his presentation, Bellingham thanked Vallejo, saying, “I reached out to Jesús to see if he was okay with it, and he’s such a brilliant, great guy.”

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