Real Madrid 2025-26 summary: Top scorer, best moment, new signings and full verdict on Alvaro Arbeloa's campaign

There is nary getting distant from the information that it was a hugely disappointing 2025-26 run for Real Madrid, with the club, for the 2nd successive season, failing to triumph 1 of the large 3 trophies disposable to them - La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League.

Xabi Alonso was sacked arsenic caput manager successful January, with Alvaro Arbeloa placed successful complaint of the archetypal team, but it proved to beryllium a pugnacious gig for the club's erstwhile defender, who is acceptable to beryllium replaced by Jose Mourinho, with 'The Special One' successful enactment for a spectacular return.

Here, Sports Mole provides a afloat summary of Real Madrid's 2025-26 season.

Real Madrid 2025-26 play summary

Real Madrid finished their 2025-26 La Liga run with a grounds of 27 wins, 5 draws and six defeats, but that was not adjacent adjacent to being bully capable to decorativeness astatine the summit, with Barcelona winning the rubric successful El Clasico astatine the commencement of May, and the Catalan giants yet finished 8 points wide of their rivals contempt losing 2 of their last 3 matches.

Los Blancos really started their La Liga play with six consecutive wins, but they were fixed thing to deliberation astir astatine the extremity of September, having mislaid 5-2 to Atletico Madrid; successful fairness, the effect to that decision was terrific, winning their adjacent four, and Alonso's broadside looked to beryllium superior contenders for the rubric astatine that signifier of proceedings.

A 2nd league nonaccomplishment came successful December to Celta Vigo, though, and Alonso past mislaid his occupation successful the aboriginal stages of 2026, ironically during a play erstwhile a batch of wins were coming successful the league.

All was not good down the scenes, though, with Alonso leaving - the 44-year-old was to beryllium replaced by Arbeloa, who besides recovered it hard to negociate the dressing room.

Real Madrid triumphed successful 8 consecutive league games betwixt December 14 and February 14 but successive losses to Osasuna and Getafe were incredibly damaging, portion the 2-1 reverse to Mallorca astatine the commencement of April was a large setback erstwhile it came to their rubric ambitions.

Barcelona's signifier was truthful exceptional that immoderate gaffe would person been incredibly damaging for Real Madrid, and 2 draws successful April against Girona and Real Betis outgo them, with Barcelona past confirmed to beryllium champions with a 2-0 triumph successful El Clasico connected May 10.

There is small doubting that Barcelona deserved it, but Real Madrid did astatine slightest negociate to extremity their league play connected a affirmative note, beating Real Oviedo, Sevilla and Athletic Bilbao.

Elsewhere, Real Madrid were stunned successful the Copa del Rey, losing 3-2 to second-tier outfit Albacete successful the circular of 16 successful January, portion they were beaten by Barcelona successful the last of the Spanish Super Cup, having flooded Atletico successful the semi-finals.

Real Madrid lone finished ninth successful the league signifier of the 2025-26 Champions League, losing 3 of their 8 matches, but they bushed Benfica successful the knockout circular playoffs earlier overcoming Man City successful the circular of 16 courtesy of a 5-1 aggregate success.

Los Blancos were incapable to advancement immoderate further, though, going down 6-4 connected aggregate to Bayern Munich successful the past eight, and the German outfit were past beaten by Paris Saint-Germain successful the semi-finals.

There has been terrible problems successful the Real Madrid dressing country this season, with Kylian Mbappe's narration with his teammates said to beryllium fractured, portion Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde clashed successful the dressing country up of El Clasico.

Mbappe and Arbeloa besides had a warfare of words pursuing the 2-0 triumph implicit Real Oviedo connected May 14, which was different low-point successful a run afloat of problems.

It has been a investigating and hard play for Real Madrid, and it is shaping up to beryllium a fascinating summertime transportation window, with the nine wanting to boost their squad successful a fig of areas, portion the instrumentality of a definite Mourinho arsenic caput manager could beryllium confirmed successful the adjacent future.

Mourinho volition request to rapidly get to grips with a dressing country that has shown a fig of cracks during a investigating and turbulent campaign.

Real Madrid apical scorer 2025-26: Kylian Mbappe

There stay question marks surrounding Mbappe's suitability to Real Madrid considering that the squad person struggled to gel during the Frenchman's 2 seasons astatine Bernabeu, but determination is small doubting his quality, and helium comfortably ended the 2025-26 run arsenic the club's apical goalscorer with 42 strikes successful each competitions.

Mbappe managed 25 goals successful 31 league matches, 2 successful 1 Copa del Rey fixture, portion helium recovered the backmost of the nett connected 15 occasions successful 11 fixtures successful the Champions League.

For context, Vinicius Junior ended the play with 22 goals successful each competitions, portion Valverde was adjacent successful enactment with nine.

Valverde has been mostly fantabulous for Real Madrid again this term, and helium was surely successful the moving to beryllium named the club's Player of the Season, but the dressing-room incidental that occurred with Tchouameni has taken a batch of the gloss disconnected his campaign.

Mbappe indispensable find a mode to afloat integrate into the Real Madrid dressing room, arsenic it is wide that has not occurred truthful far, and the Frenchman is inactive susceptible of having a agelong and palmy vocation astatine Bernabeu, but immense changes request to beryllium made crossed the board.

Real Madrid's champion infinitesimal of the 2025-26 season

Real Madrid booked their spot successful the quarter-finals of the Champions League courtesy of a 2-1 occurrence implicit Man City astatine the Etihad Stadium connected March 17, and it was a effect and show that, astatine the time, sent a superior connection to the remainder of the competition.

The mode of Real Madrid's show implicit the 2 legs, successful summation to the people - 5-1 - suggested that they would beryllium superior challengers for the European Cup erstwhile again.

Vinicius deed a brace astatine the Etihad Stadium, including a victor successful the 93rd minute, and astatine the time, each was good astatine Bernabeu, but the affirmative ambiance would not past for excessively long.

Real Madrid's biggest disappointment of the 2025-26 season

Real Madrid's wide show level successful La Liga this play deserves a notation successful this category, portion their Champions League exit to Bayern was besides incredibly disappointing, but it is not hard to prime a victor here, considering what occurred successful the dressing country betwixt Valverde and Tchouameni.

Los Blancos needed unity up of El Clasico - a lucifer that they needed to triumph to support the La Liga rubric contention live but alternatively they had a superior dressing-room incident, with 1 of their captains Valverde, who needed attraction successful hospital, clashing with Tchouameni.

Valverde was diagnosed with a 'traumatic encephalon injury', and some the Uruguay planetary and Tchouameni were hit with nine fines to the magnitude of £432,000.

It is wide that the dressing country astatine Real Madrid is not a blessed place, and that volition beryllium a large situation for the caller manager that arrives astatine Bernabeu this summer.

Alvaro Arbeloa verdict - 2025-26 season

Arbeloa was brought successful arsenic a replacement for Alonso successful January, and helium ended up taking complaint of 28 matches for Los Blancos, boasting a grounds of 18 wins, 2 draws and 8 defeats.

There were precocious points during the 43-year-old's clip successful complaint but besides immoderate incredibly debased ones, and his relationships with a fig of first-team players were fractured.

Arbeloa was ne'er going to beryllium a semipermanent enactment for Real Madrid, with the Spaniard perchance dropping backmost down to his relation arsenic caput manager of the reserve broadside astatine the club.

Considering his deficiency of acquisition and the problems facing him, Arbeloa tin beryllium arrogant of a batch of what helium achieved during his abbreviated clip astatine the helm, and this acquisition volition basal him successful bully stead, arsenic helium bids to carve retired a palmy absorption vocation successful the coming years.

Real Madrid caller signings 2025-26

Real Madrid confirmed transfers in: Summer 2025

Dean Huijsen (£50m from Bournemouth)

Trent Alexander-Arnold (£8.3m from Liverpool)

Franco Mastantuono (£38.5m from River Plate)

Alvaro Carreras (£43m from Benfica)

Real Madrid confirmed transfers in: January 2026

None

Real Madrid 2025-26 play rating

It is simply a pugnacious play to people considering what occurred, but Real Madrid's nonaccomplishment to unafraid a large trophy means that it cannot beryllium considered a occurrence by immoderate agelong of the imagination.

Finishing 2nd successful La Liga is ne'er a bully look for Real Madrid, and they ended the run 8 points down Barcelona - the superior squad were besides knocked retired successful the last-16 signifier of the Copa del Rey and finished arsenic runners-up successful the Spanish Super Cup.

Real Madrid bushed Man City en way to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, but they were past knocked retired by Bayern, with different European rubric proving to beryllium beyond them.

It is hard to grant much than a 5 for Real Madrid's hard campaign.

Overall rating: 5/10