This week, Real Madrid will begin their quest for the first official title of 2026. The Spanish giants departed on Tuesday for Saudi Arabia to compete in the Spanish Super Cup, but not before making a disappointing announcement concerning Kylian Mbappe.
Just before the players from the Spanish club boarded the flight that will take them to Jeddah, Real Madrid released — through their official social media accounts — the list of 24 players selected by head coach Xabi Alonso for the tournament that brings together the four best teams from last season in Spain.
Notably absent from that list was Kylian Mbappe, who will not be available for the Spanish Super Cup due to a knee injury suffered last week. The issue already forced him to miss Sunday’s match against Real Betis in La Liga, and it was widely expected to also rule him out of Thursday’s semifinal clash against Atletico Madrid.
Still, there had been some hope that the French forward could recover in time to feature in a potential final against Barcelona or Athletic Bilbao on Sunday, January 11. That possibility has now been completely ruled out, and Alonso will have to find solutions to replace his best player.
Real Madrid’s options without Mbappe
Despite being one of the most powerful clubs in the world, Real Madrid currently do not have a wide range of options to replace Kylian Mbappe. Following Endrick’s departure to Olympique Lyonnais, the only other natural center forward on the roster is Gonzalo Garcia, who scored a hat trick in the win over Betis this past weekend.
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The young Spanish striker appears to be the leading candidate to start against Atletico Madrid, not only because of his profile but also due to his recent performance. However, if Xabi Alonso opts to explore other alternatives, he would need to improvise.
One option would be to push Jude Bellingham forward to operate as a false nine, a role he is familiar with after playing there during his first season with Real Madrid — arguably his best year so far. Another possibility would be moving Rodrygo, or even Vinicius, into a more central role and deploying Franco Mastantuono on the wing.
The Super Cup is the first major objective of the season
For Real Madrid, winning the Super Cup would not only mean opening 2026 with a trophy, but also taking revenge for what happened last year. In the 2025 edition, they comfortably defeated Real Mallorca in the semifinals before meeting — as expected — Barcelona in the final.
Los Blaugranas clearly asserted their dominance in that match with a resounding 5-2 victory, a result that foreshadowed a difficult season for Los Blancos, who also fell short in the Copa del Rey, La Liga, and the UEFA Champions League.
Of course, in order to satisfy that desire for revenge, Real Madrid must first secure their place in the Super Cup final — a challenging task considering Atletico Madrid await them in the semifinals. On the other side of the bracket, Barcelona will face Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday.
