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

There is no getting away from the fact that it was a hugely disappointing 2025-26 campaign for Real Madrid, with the club, for the second successive season, failing to win one of the major three trophies available to them - La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League.

Xabi Alonso was sacked as head coach in January, with Alvaro Arbeloa placed in charge of the first team, but it proved to be a tough gig for the club's former defender, who is set to be replaced by Jose Mourinho, with 'The Special One' in line for a spectacular return.

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

Real Madrid 2025-26 season summary

Real Madrid finished their 2025-26 La Liga campaign with a record of 27 wins, five draws and six defeats, but that was not even close to being good enough to finish at the summit, with Barcelona winning the title in El Clasico at the start of May, and the Catalan giants ultimately finished eight points clear of their rivals despite losing two of their final three matches.

Los Blancos actually started their La Liga season with six straight wins, but they were given something to think about at the end of September, having lost 5-2 to Atletico Madrid; in fairness, the response to that defeat was terrific, winning their next four, and Alonso's side looked to be serious contenders for the title at that stage of proceedings.

A second league loss came in December to Celta Vigo, though, and Alonso then lost his job in the early stages of 2026, ironically during a period when a lot of wins were coming in the league.

All was not well behind the scenes, though, with Alonso leaving - the 44-year-old was to be replaced by Arbeloa, who also found it difficult to manage the dressing room.

Real Madrid triumphed in eight straight league games between December 14 and February 14 but successive losses to Osasuna and Getafe were incredibly damaging, while the 2-1 reverse to Mallorca at the start of April was a major setback when it came to their title ambitions.

Barcelona's form was so exceptional that any slip would have been incredibly damaging for Real Madrid, and two draws in April against Girona and Real Betis cost them, with Barcelona then confirmed to be champions with a 2-0 victory in El Clasico on May 10.

There is little doubting that Barcelona deserved it, but Real Madrid did at least manage to end their league season on a positive note, beating Real Oviedo, Sevilla and Athletic Bilbao.

© Imago / Ball Raw Images

Elsewhere, Real Madrid were stunned in the Copa del Rey, losing 3-2 to second-tier outfit Albacete in the round of 16 in January, while they were beaten by Barcelona in the final of the Spanish Super Cup, having overcome Atletico in the semi-finals.

Real Madrid only finished ninth in the league phase of the 2025-26 Champions League, losing three of their eight matches, but they beat Benfica in the knockout round playoffs before overcoming Man City in the round of 16 courtesy of a 5-1 aggregate success.

Los Blancos were unable to progress any further, though, going down 6-4 on aggregate to Bayern Munich in the last eight, and the German outfit were then beaten by Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-finals.

There has been severe problems in the Real Madrid dressing room this season, with Kylian Mbappe's relationship with his teammates said to be fractured, while Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde clashed in the dressing room ahead of El Clasico.

Mbappe and Arbeloa also had a war of words following the 2-0 win over Real Oviedo on May 14, which was another low-point in a campaign full of problems.

It has been a testing and difficult season for Real Madrid, and it is shaping up to be a fascinating summer transfer window, with the club wanting to boost their squad in a number of areas, while the return of a certain Mourinho as head coach could be confirmed in the near future.

Mourinho will need to quickly get to grips with a dressing room that has shown a number of cracks during a testing and turbulent campaign.

Real Madrid top scorer 2025-26: Kylian Mbappe

© Imago / Alberto Gardin

There remain question marks surrounding Mbappe's suitability to Real Madrid considering that the team have struggled to gel during the Frenchman's two seasons at Bernabeu, but there is little doubting his quality, and he comfortably ended the 2025-26 campaign as the club's top goalscorer with 42 strikes in all competitions.

Mbappe managed 25 goals in 31 league matches, two in one Copa del Rey fixture, while he found the back of the net on 15 occasions in 11 fixtures in the Champions League.

For context, Vinicius Junior ended the season with 22 goals in all competitions, while Valverde was next in line with nine.

Valverde has been largely excellent for Real Madrid again this term, and he was certainly in the running to be named the club's Player of the Season, but the dressing-room incident that occurred with Tchouameni has taken a lot of the gloss off his campaign.

Mbappe must find a way to fully integrate into the Real Madrid dressing room, as it is clear that has not occurred so far, and the Frenchman is still capable of having a long and successful career at Bernabeu, but huge changes need to be made across the board.

Real Madrid's best moment of the 2025-26 season

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Real Madrid booked their spot in the quarter-finals of the Champions League courtesy of a 2-1 success over Man City at the Etihad Stadium on March 17, and it was a result and performance that, at the time, sent a serious message to the rest of the competition.

The manner of Real Madrid's performance over the two legs, in addition to the score - 5-1 - suggested that they would be serious challengers for the European Cup once again.

Vinicius hit a brace at the Etihad Stadium, including a winner in the 93rd minute, and at the time, all was well at Bernabeu, but the positive atmosphere would not last for too long.

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

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Real Madrid's overall performance level in La Liga this season deserves a mention in this category, while their Champions League exit to Bayern was also incredibly disappointing, but it is not difficult to pick a winner here, considering what occurred in the dressing room between Valverde and Tchouameni.

Los Blancos needed unity ahead of El Clasico - a match that they needed to win to keep the La Liga title race alive but instead they had a serious dressing-room incident, with one of their captains Valverde, who needed treatment in hospital, clashing with Tchouameni.

Valverde was diagnosed with a 'traumatic brain injury', and both the Uruguay international and Tchouameni were hit with club fines to the amount of £432,000.

It is clear that the dressing room at Real Madrid is not a happy place, and that will be a major challenge for the new manager that arrives at Bernabeu this summer.

Alvaro Arbeloa verdict - 2025-26 season

© Iconsport / Alterphotos

Arbeloa was brought in as a replacement for Alonso in January, and he ended up taking charge of 28 matches for Los Blancos, boasting a record of 18 wins, two draws and eight defeats.

There were high points during the 43-year-old's time in charge but also some incredibly low ones, and his relationships with a number of first-team players were fractured.

Arbeloa was never going to be a long-term option for Real Madrid, with the Spaniard potentially dropping back down to his role as head coach of the reserve side at the club.

Considering his lack of experience and the problems facing him, Arbeloa can be proud of a lot of what he achieved during his short time at the helm, and this experience will stand him in good stead, as he bids to carve out a successful management career in the coming years.

Real Madrid new signings 2025-26

© Imago

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 season rating

© Imago / IMAGO / Pressinphoto

It is a tough season to grade considering what occurred, but Real Madrid's failure to secure a major trophy means that it cannot be considered a success by any stretch of the imagination.

Finishing second in La Liga is never a good look for Real Madrid, and they ended the campaign eight points behind Barcelona - the capital team were also knocked out in the last-16 stage of the Copa del Rey and finished as runners-up in the Spanish Super Cup.

Real Madrid beat Man City en route to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, but they were then knocked out by Bayern, with another European title proving to be beyond them.

It is difficult to award more than a five for Real Madrid's difficult campaign.

Overall rating: 5/10