On 9 November 2006 he scored his first goal with the main squad, closing the 5–1 home defeat of Écija Balompié in the domestic cup (6–2 aggregate);[6] in July 2007, he renewed his contract until 2011.

[13][14][15] Real Madrid president Ramón Calderón confirmed in May 2008 that, along with Granero and Javi García, de la Red would return to the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium for 2008–09.

It was suggested that the latter could be used in a swap deal involving a number of potential targets, although coach Bernd Schuster stated that he was willing to give the midfielder a chance to impress in his team.

[23] In January 2010, it was reported in various Madrid-based news sites that Real Madrid were attempting to declare de la Red's heart problem to be "a common condition", and therefore find a way to annul his contract.

Uncapped, he was named in the nation's squad of 22 for UEFA Euro 2008 by coach Luis Aragonés, but would appear in two exhibition games against Peru and the United States prior to the continental competition.

[29][30][31] During the tournament's final group-stage match, de la Red scored his only international goal with a powerful strike against Greece on 18 June, for a 2–1 win.