In response, club president Florentino Perez hired Alonso and sanctioned around €180million (£155m; $210.5m) to be spent on new players, including defenders Dean Huijsen, Alvaro Carreras and Trent Alexander-Arnold, along with exciting young Argentine playmaker Franco Mastantuono.

The 2025-26 La Liga season is here, as Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid are fighting to retake the division crown from Barcelona.

The start of Real Madrid's new era came with a painful defeat - but manager Xabi Alonso has the chance of a lifetime with his former club.

Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe scored 31 La Liga goals in the 2024-25 La Liga season, but did not register a goal against two teams.