Real Madrid 2025/26 Season Preview: Season Recap, Transfers, Playing XI and Expectations

Real Madrid, will be starting their 2025/26 season with their league opener against Osasuna on 20th August 2025, at 12:30 AM (IST). Madrid had a disastrous 2024/25 season, where they failed to win any major silverware, despite having a star-studded squad. They saw arch-rivals Barcelona lift the La Liga title, the Spanish Super Cup, as well as the Copa Del Rey, and were knocked out of the Champions League in the quarterfinals. Despite French forward Kylian Mbappe emerging as a ray of hope for the Los Blancos with his tally of goals, it was clear that the team lacked chemistry throughout the season, which hurt their chances massively in each of the competitions they played in. The new season saw the departure of Carlo Ancelotti and the appointment of former Real Madrid player Xabi Alonso, who is tasked with bringing back the glory days as soon as possible for the Los Blancos.

Real Madrid's defense seemed to experience an unexpected dip in the last season, which would be one of the major areas that Alonso will work on and try to improve significantly. The German manager has arrived with a lot of expectations on his shoulders after his successful stint with Bayer Leverkusen and is expected to turn things around with his brand of football, which is a bit unfamiliar to the Madrid fraternity. Alonso usually deploys a 3-5-2 formation, with a double pivot of two central-defensive midfielders. After the departure of Toni Kroos and Luka Modric, it will be interesting to see what Alonso does to bring back control in the middle of the park. Madrid have made quite a few key signings this season, which further strengthens their squad. The promising defender Dean Huijsen was brought in from Bournemouth after a stupendous season in the English Premier League to bolster the defense, whereas Trent Alexander-Arnold was swooped in from Liverpool to fill in the right-back position. Trent's arrival has served the Los Blancos with a player who has a massive passing range but should be mindful of his subpar defensive abilities. Franco Mastantuono and Alvaro Carreras are the other two signings and are expected to perform well in the upcoming season.

Real Madrid Performance in 2024-25 Season

Real Madrid started the season slowly but picked up well after Barcelona's slight slip-up just before January. However, Madrid's defense continued to get exposed every other matchday, along with little control in the midfield, which the opponent took full advantage of. They started losing points gradually at a time when Barcelona changed gears and improved massively with every passing game. Madrid lost each of their El Clásicos in the season, which left a lasting impact on the team's beliefs. They suffered a harrowing 5-2 loss in the Spanish Super Cup and followed it up with a 3-2 defeat in the final of the Copa del Rey, where Frenchman Jules Kounde scored a last-gasp winner. The Champions League, which has been one of the favourite competitions of the Los Blancos, also went out of their reach as they suffered a shocking defeat to Arsenal in the quarterfinals. Let's take a look at Real Madrid's 2024/25 season in detail.

La Liga

Real Madrid lost the La Liga title to FC Barcelona by just four points, as they failed to defend the title after winning it in the 2023/24 season. Madrid's defense let them down quite often, which proved to be a decisive factor in the team's performances in each of the competitions they participated in. Carlo Ancelotti's men conceded a total of 38 goals in the league, which ranked them 5th among the teams with top defenses in the league. Mbappe finished the season with 31 goals, which was the only positive Madrid managed to take away from an otherwise disappointing season.

Domestic Cups & UEFA Champions League

They say attack wins you games, defense wins you titles - which was once again proved in Madrid's disastrous last season. They lost to Barcelona in each of their four meetings in the season, two of which came in the finals of the Spanish Super Cup and the Copa del Rey. The Los Blancos conceded a total of 16 goals in those four matches, a record they will want to forget. Madrid somehow qualified for the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League after seeing off city rivals Atletico Madrid in the round of 16 on penalties. They faced a valiant Arsenal team, who were quite clinical in both legs and knocked Madrid out of the competition on an aggregate score of 5-1.

Real Madrid 2025-26 Signings

After a lackluster campaign, Real Madrid understood the need for reinforcements and didn't waste time before signing players that could strengthen their squad massively. Dean Huijsen and Trent Alexander-Arnold came in from the Premier League, whereas Franco Mastantuono and Alvaro Carreras are the other two players who would be joining Xabi Alonso's squad in the new season. With the transfer window still open, it will be interesting to see if Madrid opts to sign a few more players in the event of one or more players leaving. Sportsdunia takes a look at the incoming and outgoing transfers for Madrid so far ahead of the new season.

Real Madrid Players In

With David Alaba and Antonio Rudiger on a decline and Eder Militao struggling with fitness issues, Madrid needed a solid centre-back with good ball-playing abilities who could complement the likes of Raul Asencio, who has been a revelation for the Royal Whites in the last season. They quickly took notice of another Spanish centre back who performed quite well in the Premier League with Bournemouth and wasted no time to secure his signing. Yes, we are talking about Dean Huijsen. A versatile centre back who's still young, has shown a lot of composure on the ball, and is pretty good with his ball-playing abilities. The centre back was one of the best players for Madrid in the recently concluded FIFA Club World Cup.

Real Madrid also signed Trent Alexander-Arnold from Liverpool on a free transfer to solidify the right-back position to prepare for life after Dani Carvajal, as the veteran defender is nearing the last days of his career. The Los Blancos also signed Alvaro Carreras from Benfica, who happens to be one of the Real Madrid C.F. academy graduates. After Angel Di Maria, another Argentine will be seen donning the Whites, as Franco Mastantuono is set to arrive at the Spanish capital from River Plate. It will be interesting to see if he could replicate Di Maria's success in the club and reach the standards set by another Argentine who happens to be the most important figure in the history of the royal club, Alfredo Di Stefano.

Real Madrid Players Out

Real Madrid C.F. bid farewell to two of their most loyal servants of the last decade ahead of the new season - Luka Modric and Lucas Vazquez. Modric left the club after 13 years of service, where he won every competition there was to be won, being one of the most important and loved members of the team. The Croatian maestro will now ply his trade in the Italian top flight with AC Milan. Lucas Vazquez, along with Modric, left the club after the Club World Cup.

Vazquez was an important member of Real Madrid's three-peat team and has made immense contributions in each of Madrid's title-winning campaigns since then. However, Vazquez's destination after finishing his tenure at the Spanish capital is still unknown. Youngsters like Jacobo Ramon have left for Como on a season-long loan, whereas Alvaro Rodriguez and Mario Martin have also left for Spanish clubs Elche and Getafe, respectively. Jesus Vallejo, too, has departed after being associated with the club for 10 years, now joining Albacete Balompié in the Spanish second division.

Real Madrid Predicted XI in 2025-26 Season

Xabi Alonso is expected to field his usual 3-5-2 formation, but it will be interesting to see who gets the nod in the starting lineup. Arda Guler seems to have climbed up the ranks, leaving the likes of Rodrygo behind, as the German manager used him in every match at the Club World Cup, while the Brazilian made appearances mainly from the bench. Thibaut Courtois is the sure-shot choice for the goalkeeping position, with Andriy Lunin getting his chances in the Copa del Rey Real Madrid games. The three-man back is likely to be made up of Dean Huijsen, Antonio Rudiger, and Eder Militao.

The five in the midfield are expected to be Aurelien Tchouameni, Federico Valverde, Jude Bellingham, Arda Guler, and Trent Alexander-Arnold. Trent is expected to play higher up the pitch, as his attacking prowess will provide Madrid with an extra edge over their opponents. Valverde and Tchouameni will play in the double pivot, with Bellingham and Guler shouldering the task of creating chances for the likes of Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe up front. Vinicius and Mbappe's chemistry looks good on paper, but they are yet to click together on the field.

Youngster Gonzalo Garcia impressed Alonso a lot at the Club World Cup, as the manager drew comparisons with the legendary footballer Raul, after the 21-year-old's delightful performances. It will surely give the German coach a headache to choose only two from the three forwards. Rodrygo seems to be ostracized from Alonso's plans, as the Brazilian's minutes have gone down drastically since the arrival of the former Leverkusen boss. However, Alonso will surely rely on the Brazilian in case of an injury to any of his preferred forward players. Here's the expected Real Madrid lineup in the 2025-26 season:

Real Madrid 2025-26 Season Expectations

Real Madrid players are expected to deliver trophies in every season - a standard that has been set for decades now. With the world's best players playing together for the badge, anything short of a La Liga title and a Champions League trophy is considered to be a disaster for the Los Blancos. Let's take a look at the expectations from Real Madrid in the upcoming season:

League

Madrid are expected to lift the La Liga title once again after failing last season, or at least finish second in the league. A finish lower than that will raise serious questions on the players and the manager alike.

Cups

The Los Blancos are also expected to perform fairly well in the Spanish Super Cup and the Copa del Rey and try to win both of those titles. They will look to avenge their defeats against rivals Barcelona in each of the tournaments they lost out to in the last season. With a bigger and better squad than last season, it is expected that Real Madrid players will look to at least reach the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League in the 2025/26 season.