Royal Club, Missing Crown: Why Real Madrid Need More Than Just Mbappé

The headlines in the Spanish media the morning following Real Madrid’s crushing 0-3 loss to Arsenal at the Emirates included headlines like “Humiliated” and “It was just a dream”. What in the Royal Club’s season went wrong?

Photo: Real Madrid players entering the pitch at the 2024–25 LaLiga game (screenshot: youtube.com/@LaLiga)

Let’s talk about Real Madrid’s 2024–25 campaign. The team’s 1-5 aggregate loss to Arsenal in the Champions League quarterfinals has sparked the usual barrage of accusations, introspection, and mudslinging in the Spanish capital.

Nobody has spared criticism, including the players for their output and work ethic, coach Carlo Ancelotti for his strategies and game management, and club president Florentino Pérez for the team’s inadequacies. The Bernabéu crowd has whistled for Vini and Kylian Mbappé, the team’s stars. Following the second leg of his final Champions League match as manager against Arsenal, Ancelotti held a post-match news conference in a somber mood.

Even though Real Madrid were only four points behind Barcelona at the top of LaLiga, they always seemed to be much further behind. They would’ve been so unconvincing for a large portion of the season, even if they had won the Copa del Rey, which they ultimately failed to do as they lost the final against Barcelona in Seville.

If games before penalty shootouts are taken into consideration, “Los Blancos” have dropped 14 games in all competitions during the 2024–25 season. Barcelona, their most formidable opponent, has heavily beaten them twice: 4-0 and 5-2. Éder Militão and Dani Carvajal, their two finest defenders, have been out for the majority of the season. Jude Bellingham, Vini, Rodrygo, and Kylian Mbappé have frequently seemed completely cut off from the rest of the team. Federico Valverde and Dani Ceballos have been the only players who appear to be making sense of it all.

It begs the question, “How good or bad is this Real Madrid team really?” before the 32-team first FIFA Club World Cup begins. And will they need little or substantial surgery to be eligible to successfully compete in the UEFA Champions League again?

Lack of “Collective Commitment”

One of Ancelotti’s favorite lines from Real Madrid’s 2023–24 campaign, “collective commitment”, was the motto of the double-winning campaign, which frequently praised the team’s lack of egos and the readiness of players like Vini and Bellingham to use their skills for the good of the team. In 2024–25, that vanished. Ancelotti has acknowledged this as well.

Ancelotti gave a binary evaluation of his team before Real Madrid defeated Atlético Madrid on penalties in the Champions League round of 16. “There are two types of players”, he stated. “Those who run, and those who make the difference. You can’t be in the middle. Either you run, or you make the difference.”

Running has also been a problem far too frequently this season. Real Madrid’s players ran 101.2 kilometers against Arsenal’s 113.9 kilometers in the first leg in London. When Madrid, encouraged by the Bernabéu crowd, had to make another incredible European “remontada” (comeback) in the second leg, they went 108.1 kilometers as opposed to Arsenal’s 117.6 km.

Drop-off in Team’s Defensive Performance Between 2023-24 and 2024-25

Between 2023–24 and 2024–25, the team’s defensive performance declined on a variety of indicators. In 38 LaLiga games played last season, Madrid let up 26 goals, or 0.68 goals per game. This season, they’ve given up 38 goals, or one goal every game. Even the signing of Mbappé, with his weaponry, hasn’t been able to make up for this disparity. Real Madrid’s players recovered the ball 1,766 times in 38 league games in 2023–24, averaging 46.5 wins per game. Last time we checked, they had made 1,298 ball recoveries near the end of the 2024–25 season, averaging 40.6 recoveries per game.

True, distance isn’t the most important factor. However, the fact that Mbappé and Vini are the only outfield players in La Liga who spend more time strolling than jogging is an eye-catching statistic. Perhaps a team can afford to have one star striker who makes a difference but prefers to save energy while not in possession. Can they, however, afford to nurture two?

Although Vini (21 goals) and Bellingham (14 goals) are down from last season’s totals, the two, along with Mbappé, have all made significant offensive contributions, both in terms of goals and assists in LaLiga. However, the club as a whole has weakened. It’s two-on-one if opponents double-mark Mbappé or Vini. One goal may be scored, but not three, four, or five. As far as game plans go, Real Madrid’s numerous crosses appeared a little frantic because they lacked a Joselu to win those duels and be a natural center-forward up front this season.

How Much Needs to Change for Real to Be Back to Their Best?

Prior to Xabi Alonso’s appointment, Real Madrid were in a bad mood following a humiliating European departure and the loss of all domestic trophies to Barcelona. How much must they alter in order to return to their peak performance?

The inclusion of Joselu, a valuable squad member who moved to Qatar on loan from Espanyol and who, as a substitute at the Bernabéu, scored two goals in three minutes against Bayern Munich to lead Madrid to the Champions League final the previous season, served as a reminder of what this year’s team lacked.

Players like Joselu and Nacho, the club captain, were neither stars nor even definite starters. But more than anything else, they have been missed as role models and personalities. Carvajal is still there but hasn’t been since October due to a significant knee injury. Other veterans, such as Lucas Vázquez, 33, and Luka Modrić, 39, have stayed but were displaying their current limitations.

Real Madrid’s squad-building has been revealed to be overly optimistic and undercooked, both before the season began and when they had the opportunity to reevaluate in January. With no Nacho replacement, the center-back shortage has been addressed by the fortunate rise of 22-year-old Raúl Asencio. However, Toni Kroos’ retirement left a void in the team’s core, and Vázquez hasn’t been able to step in for Carvajal well. The German player established the pace with ease and was the conductor of the midfield. With his Kroos-like 95% pass completion rate in LaLiga being the team’s best, Dani Ceballos has tried his hardest to make up for it.

Madrid was more than motivated to address these issues this summer after losing the Copa del Rey and La Liga, which came as a result of their elimination from the Champions League. Trent Alexander-Arnold, a right-back from Liverpool, is the first to arrive. After David Alaba, Antonio Rüdiger, and Mbappé, the 26-year-old is the most recent in a string of high-profile players in their prime being signed via free transfer. In an effort to revitalize the defense, “Los Blancos” have finalized their move for Dean Huijsen, a center-back for the Spain national team, from Bournemouth.

Madrid’s revenue increased to €1.2 billion this season from €1 billion in 2023–24, which was already more than the previous season. However, Real are still hesitant to pay high transfer fees for anything else than the world’s top young talent. If there isn’t a working system that they can fit into, new hires will only make the team stronger so far. The harshest and most accurate criticism of Ancelotti, a manager with unparalleled experience who has won two LaLiga titles and two Champions Leagues since rejoining the team in 2021, is found here.

The Italian has pushed on using Mbappé, Rodrygo, Vini, and Bellingham in the same starting lineup whenever possible. When out of possession, that hasn’t been easy to reconcile with Ancelotti’s insistence on using the traditional 4-4-2 system. With those four players packed into the side and frequently hesitant to track back, this club has battled to persuade on defense. Additionally, Ancelotti has been reluctant to bench one of the forwards for a midfield body, either out of personal choice or in response to pressure from the executive level. Would Xabi Alonso have the courage or more freedom to behave differently? Or would he face the same internal politics and limitations?

The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup is scheduled for June 14 to July 13; Real’s first group match against Al Hilal is scheduled for June 18 in Miami, USA. Interestingly, according to the odds of the best bookmakers for football, Real is the clear favorite to win this tournament despite having a turbulent season. The anticipated summer changing of the guard wasn’t complicated by FIFA’s new competition. A coach was fired at the end of the domestic season in late May, as is customary, and a replacement was named, but he had no time to settle in and get ready for the upcoming campaign in mid-August. Indeed, it’s extremely uncommon for a successor, like Xabi Alonso of Leverkusen, to start his reign by throwing himself into a CWC competition with a squad that’s essentially still Ancelotti’s. However, that’s the reality. Perhaps this shock treatment will rouse Real Madrid in time for the 2025–26 Champions League and LaLiga. Without a doubt, this summer calls for a drastic reconstruction.