Welcome to the latest edition of Inside Real Madrid, our weekly series to follow throughout La Liga’s 2025-26 season.
Each week, we will bring you key information and analysis on the biggest talking points, cutting through the noisy world of all things Madridista with reporting you can trust.
The information contained in this article reflects multiple conversations with various sources at Madrid, all of whom spoke anonymously to protect relationships.
What’s the biggest talking point at Real Madrid?
It’s Champions League crunch time — and Tuesday’s quarter-final first leg at home to Bayern Munich takes on extra significance given Alvaro Arbeloa’s side are effectively out of the race to win La Liga.
Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Mallorca means Hansi Flick’s defending champions are seven points clear at the top of the Spanish table, with eight matches to play.
It was a setback that stung, particularly given the momentum Madrid had built over five consecutive wins before the international break — including an impressive 5-1 aggregate victory over Manchester City in the Champions League last 16.
Sources within Arbeloa’s staff said morale was low after the loss, but they struck a resilient tone and insisted that staying alive in the league will help the team prepare for the Champions League.
What did we learn from Saturday’s match?
Defeat at Mallorca was Madrid’s fifth in 18 matches under Arbeloa. Xabi Alonso was sacked in January after six losses in 34 games.
Madrid began brightly and Kylian Mbappe, starting his first club game since February 21, came close twice in the first half. But their control faded as the minutes passed — something reflected in the performance of Eduardo Camavinga, who struggled to impose himself and repeatedly gave the ball away.
The 23-year-old returned to the starting XI in the absence of the suspended Federico Valverde and was at fault when failing to track Manu Morlanes for Mallorca’s opener. It all fits into a difficult season for Camavinga, who has been criticised on several occasions for lapses in concentration.
“You switch off for a moment, you don’t track your man and you end up paying for it,” said a visibly frustrated Arbeloa in his post-match press conference, not naming Camavinga but clearly referring to that moment.
Arbeloa was promoted from Madrid’s reserves to replace Xabi Alonso in January (Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
“It’s easy to recognise the opponent’s strengths. What’s difficult is understanding that without 200 per cent from everyone, we were never going to win.”
In the 59th minute, Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior but even with all their stars on the pitch, Madrid looked lost and failed to impose themselves. Bellingham looked short of fitness as he continues his comeback from a thigh injury.
More positive was the return of Eder Militao after more than four months out with a torn hamstring. However, the 28-year-old’s 87th-minute equaliser was quickly forgotten after Vedat Muriqi’s 91st-minute winner for Mallorca, and the closing image for Madrid was unused substitute Dani Carvajal’s thousand-yard stare from the bench after the final whistle.
After the game, various sources close to first-team players expressed frustration about the performance, focusing especially on a lack of commitment without the ball — an issue that also surfaced in the 2-1 defeat by Osasuna on February 21.
What might we have missed/what should we look out for this week?
Dani Ceballos has been training with the group since the international break, and Ferland Mendy is expected to return to training in the coming days, with a view to being available for the return leg against Bayern Munich on Wednesday, April 14.
There has also been some chatter about moves in the transfer market. However, although Pep Guardiola said he would “understand completely” if Rodri, Manchester City’s midfielder and Ballon d’Or winner, wanted to join Madrid, a senior club source played down this option when consulted.
When asked about the squad planning, another senior source at Madrid noted that, while the team is in a process of continuous improvement, any future incomings will need to be balanced by departures.
