Real Madrid are facing their first trophyless season since the 2020-21 season. Defeat in the European Cup quarter-final first leg paints a bleak picture for Alvaro Arbeloa’s side. Last weekend, they were all but certain to be eliminated from La Liga, and on Tuesday they were helpless against Bayern Munich, who have established themselves as Champions League favorites.
The 2025-26 season could go down in Real Madrid’s history. The club has not gone without a trophy since the 2020-21 season, Zinedine Zidane’s second term as manager. The Madrid side finished runners-up in La Liga (won by Atlético Madrid) during the pandemic-affected season and reached at least the semi-finals of the Champions League, where they were eliminated by Chelsea. Results in the remaining cup matches were poor. In the Spanish Super Cup, they lost to Athletic Club in the semi-finals, and in the Copa del Rey they were eliminated in the first round by Alcoyano.
The similarities between that campaign and the current one are clear. They are second in La Liga, but seven points behind the leaders, with a visit to Barcelona’s ground pending, and the team’s situation looking desperate after defeats including last weekend’s game against Mallorca, a game Madrid needed to win to increase the pressure on Barça, who were visiting Atleti. The image was bad, and for Los Blancos it was as fair a loss as the one against Carlos Belmonte in Albacete in mid-January, which was only the second round of the Copa del Rey. The game was Alvaro Arbeloa’s first time in charge, but even with Xabi Alonso on the bench, even being on the bench did little to inspire a team that had just lost to Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final in Jeddah.
Mbappe in the spotlight
With the possibility of a trophy-less season, the spotlight will be on the entire team, especially their big stars, with Kylian Mbappé in particular. The France international striker signed for Madrid in order to move closer to the European Cup, a major collective goal, but Madrid were far from lifting any trophies this season or last. As we wait to see what happens in the second leg in Munich (next Wednesday), the truth is that Madrid, with Mbappé, are a long way from the top clubs in Europe that until recently led them with uncontested dominance.
If the defeat against Germany and Barça’s league title are confirmed, the 2024-25 season will be a similarly disappointing season in terms of the title being won in a season in which white clubs played a total of seven games. They could only win the European Super Cup and the Club World Cup, which ultimately led to Carlo Ancelotti leaving Chamartín’s bench.
