Star-studded Real Madrid are still struggling to work as a team

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Enjoyment usually comes at someone else's expense these days, particularly as the Premier League season reaches its conclusion.

There is so much to relish, from Chelsea's collapse to Tottenham's travails and Arsenal either bottling the league or not winning the title in an acceptable manner.

But don't restrict your hate-watching and schadenfreude to English clubs because over at Real Madrid things have gone massively pear-shaped too.

There are plenty of reasons to dislike the Spanish giants, who were the final club to give up on the proposed breakaway European Super League.

Real are in a league of their own when it comes to the European Cup and Champions League, lifting the trophy on a record 15 occasions.

But perhaps the defining moment in their history came in October 2024, when the club boycotted the Ballon d'Or ceremony in protest at Vinicius Junior missing out on the award.

It was a classless, petulant act – very much on-brand from an organisation famed for the galactico policy of buying all the biggest names in football and assuming that a successful team would somehow materialise.

Sometimes it worked, of course, but prioritising individual stars over the collective ethos is dangerous in a team sport.

Mourinho move is predictable but misguided

Real didn't look like much of a team at Camp Nou last Sunday, when they conceded two early goals in a 2-0 La Liga defeat to Barcelona.

That result sealed the title for Barca and completed a grim week for Real, whose preparation for El Clasico was marred by a bust-up between Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni that left Valverde in hospital with a head injury.

Ironically, the disagreement was between two of Real's most trustworthy performers on the pitch this season.

Only Vinicius Junior has started more league matches than Valverde and Tchouameni, who were each fined €500,000 for their misdemeanours.

"If you want to blame someone, here I am," declared Real coach Alvaro Arbeloa in a press conference before the Barcelona game – and veteran club president Florentino Perez needed no second invitation.

Reports this week suggest that Real are closing in on a deal to reappoint Jose Mourinho in another on-brand move from a club addicted to high-profile signings and quick fixes.

Mourinho was a force of nature in his prime, although his first spell in charge of Real yielded only one league title and one Copa del Rey between 2010 and 2013.

His 2025-26 CV is underwhelming, though. Sacked by Fenerbahce in August, Mourinho headed to Benfica, who are likely to finish third in Portugal's Primeira Liga despite not losing a single game.

His return to Madrid feels like an old-fashioned political strategy: stop the in-fighting, create a siege mentality, clamp down on the egos and restore law and order.

But Real's young squad would surely benefit from a more holistic approach under a project manager who is given time to develop a proper team. Someone like Xabi Alonso, who was sacked by Real in January after less than eight months in charge.

Patient approach could get the best out of talented squad

Alonso was not helped by Real's persistent defensive injury crisis as the experienced Antonio Rudiger, Eder Militao, Dani Carvajal, David Alaba and Ferland Mendy have all had lengthy spells on the sidelines in the past two seasons.

However, Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois remains one of the best in the business and last summer's signing Trent Alexander-Arnold is a footballer of rare talent, if only anybody knew what to do with him.

Jude Bellingham, 22, Vinicius Junior, 25, and the 27-year-old Kylian Mbappe are sensational attacking weapons and Turkish playmaker Arda Guler, just 21, has had a terrific campaign.

Arbeloa worked in Real's youth system before stepping up to succeed his former Liverpool teammate Alonso in January.

Predictably, he has promoted several youngsters into the first team and central midfielder Thiago Pitarch looks the pick of the bunch.

Just a couple of months ago, Pitarch started both legs of Real's 5-1 aggregate victory over Pep Guardiola's Manchester City in the Champions League round of 16.

That victory was achieved without the injured Bellingham while top scorer Mbappe appeared only for the final 20 minutes of the second leg.

Perhaps the elimination of City might persuade the Real hierarchy that individual superstars are not always the key to success.

Alternatively, they could just bring back Mourinho and sign Cristiano Ronaldo and David Beckham in the summer.

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Published on 15 May 2026inOpinion