Real Madrid 2025-26 Season Preview: Daunting task awaits Xabi Alonso as new Blancos boss looks to get Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr & Co. back to the top

Real Madrid were a mess, by their standards, for the latter half of last season. As Barcelona took off, Los Blancos ran remarkably in place, leading to the exit of Ancelotti as well as a fairly significant squad overhaul to greet the incoming Alonso. 

Madrid subsequently went all in on the Club World Cup, as they bought Trent Alexander-Arnold out of the final month of his Liverpool contract, expedited Dean Huijsen's signing, and delayed Jude Bellingham's shoulder surgery - all with the goal of bringing some silverware back to Spain. The result was an absolute battering at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-finals - one that saw Alonso admit that he has far more work to do with the squad than he thought. 

There is still a pretty significant Kylian Mbappe-shaped problem to deal with, too. He scored 44 goals across all competitions during his debut campaign in Spain, winning himself the European Golden Shoe in the process, but there are a multitude of questions to be asked as to whether he actually makes this teamany better. Thus far, with Vinicius Jr and Bellingham's production falling off a cliff last year, it's hard to say that the France captain offers much of a substantial improvement. 

Still, for all of the bad vibes, this is still Madrid, and fans expect results. There is plenty of debate, however, as to whether they will get them.

Most of Madrid's transfer business was completed ahead of the Club World Cup as they went for broke in the United States, but they have remained active in the market since their disappointing final-four exit. 

Alexander-Arnold is, of course, the marquee signing after he flirted with a Madrid adventure for the best part of a year, though the Blancos had to pay €10 million to have him available at FIFA's summer jamboree. Huijsen, too, is a good piece of business despite the almost €60m cost, with his performances in the U.S. among the most impressive. 

Elsewhere, Argentine teenager Franco Mastantuono looks mightily promising. An attacking midfielder who is bursting with quality, his role in this side is very much up in the air, but odds are Alonso won't be too concerned with having another intriguing midfield prospect on his hands. 

The most curious acquisition so far was that of Alvaro Carreras. Ferland Mendy and Fran Garcia seemed poised to make a perfectly agreeable left-back duo this campaign, but Madrid still went out and spent €50m on Carreras, a former academy product who impressed at Benfica last season. Given their need for a new central midfielder to fill the Toni Kroos-shaped hole in the team, it seemed an odd allocation of funds.

In terms of departures, Luka Modric and Luis Vazquez both departed after their contracts expired, while there remains intense speculation around whether Rodrygo will remain in the Spanish capital after he was repeatedly an unused substitute towards the end of last season and at the Club World Cup. There seems to be a new club linked with the Brazil forward every week, and thus would be an immense surprise if Los Blancos don't part with Rodrygo before the end of the window.

The dust has now settled on the Club World Cup, and it proved to be something of a mixed bag in terms of Madrid's performances. They looked really good for spells, and Huijsen proved that he should be immediately installed as a starting centre-back. But in their first real test - the semi-final meeting with PSG - Los Blancos capitulated, as they found themselves 3-0 down midway through the first half before going onto ship one more goal late on in New Jersey.

That deep run in the U.S. meant the squad were granted an extended holiday after a gruelling 12-plus months, and they did not begin began their preparations for the new season until August 4, just two weeks before their first fixture of the season. A friendly against Austrian side WSG Tirol resulted in a 4-0 win upon Madrid's return to action, with Mbappe netting twice, but that is the only thing close to competitive preparation that the Blancos have enjoyed ahead of the season.

Madrid are, then, going into what is a pivotal campaign a little undercooked. Alonso made it clear that his team will need time on the grass to carve out an identity and playing style, and it remains to be seen whether figuring things out in a competitive environment will prove beneficial or otherwise.

Alonso wants to play some version of the 3-4-2-1 formation that won him the title with Bayer Leverkusen in 2023. The issue is that this Madrid squad seems grossly unequipped for the task. There aren't enough quality centre-backs or hard-running central midfielders, while only Bellingham is truly capable of playing as a No.10, and he won't be available until October at the earliest while he recovers from his delayed shoulder operation. 

That means Alonso might have to get a little freaky. There will inevitably be an Alexander-Arnold in central midfield experiment at some point given he also has Dani Carvajal available to play at right-back, while the manager also tried a 4-3-3 during the Club World Cup, though he didn't get much success out of it.

The obvious advantage for Alonso is that he is a former Madridista and Florentino Perez's handpicked Ancelotti replacement. That should buy him time, whatever happens

It's been clear for the last four seasons that Madrid's performances generally follow the form of Vinicius. When the Brazilian is on it, Madrid are almost unbeatable. Last season, Vinicius' form fell off a cliff following his Ballon d'Or snub amid teething issues with Mbappe, and he scored just eight goals in all competitions following the turn of the year.

Alonso's chief task is to ensure that Vinicius and Mbappe can thrive in the same team, as while Mbappe eventually rounded into form, it's clear that he can only take Madrid so far without Vinicius also being at his best level. Ancelotti found immense success building his teams around the ex-Flamengo wonderkid, and Alonso would be wise to follow suit.

Arda Guler seems the obvious candidate for a breakout campaign after he started to find his feet towards the end of last season, and even if he isn't 'the Turkish Messi', the attacking midfielder will make for a fine footballer if he is given enough opportunities.

A word, too, for Gonzalo Garcia, who went from being an unknown academy graduate to quite comfortably Madrid's best player at the Club World Cup. The 21-year-old was rewarded with a new contract, and he's the closest thing Madrid have to a natural No.9, which Alonso tends to favour. Forcing his way into the line up on a regular basis might be beyond Garcia, but he should have a role to play over the course of the season.

Win La Liga. Win the Champions League. Win everything else.

That's the thing for Madrid; any season that doesn't involve winning at least one major trophy is at risk of going down as a failure. Ancelotti established himself as a serial winner during two spells with the club, but one poor season and he was pushed towards the exit.

Of course, it seems from recent evidence that Madrid are miles off the all-conquering sides of Ancelotti's heyday. Barcelona were excellent in winning La Liga last season despite their lack of experience, while PSG, Liverpool, Arsenal and perhaps Bayern Munich are all better equipped for Champions League success than Los Blancos. That said, they can never - never - be written off in Europe...

Player of the Season: Federico Valverde. The Uruguayan has never quite gotten the plaudits he deserves, and Alonso will unlock his spell-binding best.

Biggest disappointment: Kylian Mbappe. He will still score 30 goals, but that's not enough given his salary and role in the team.

Best signing: Dean Huijsen. A terrific central defender who will slot right into this team.

Top scorer: Mbappe. He will still score more goals than anyone else, even if he doesn't reach last season's heights.

European fate: Champions League winners. It would be daft to predict anything else.

League position: 2nd. Barcelona just look too strong right now.