While the great rival Barcelona is in the midst of its preparation with a series of friendlies, Real Madrid has no scheduled friendlies before the start of the 2025/26 season.
This is an atypical move for the club, which usually uses the summer to play through the squad and physical training. The La Liga season will start for Madrid on August 19 with a home match against Osasuna, and this match will be their first official match in over a month and a half. The new head coach of “los Blancos“ Xabi Alonso will have to look for the championship path without the opportunity to test his schemes in friendlies.
The reason for the lack of friendlies is Real Madrid's participation in the expanded FIFA Club World Championship. The tournament, which was held in the United States, practically played the role of pre-season training for the team, but with much higher stakes. The Spanish giants played a total of six matches in the competition, reaching the semi-finals, where they faced elite rivals such as Borussia Dortmund, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain.
The tournament saw the debuts of new signings Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dean Huysen, who would otherwise have taken their first steps in friendlies. Alonso also bet on young talents such as Gonzalo Garcia, who impressed by winning the “Golden Boot“ - four goals in six matches. The experience gained in the States may prove more valuable than the traditional controls against weaker opponents.
However, the lack of game practice in the weeks before the start of La Liga carries its risks - Real Madrid will enter the season without an official match for six weeks.