Real Madrid eyes La Liga title without Benzema as Mbappe deal looms

Real Madrid is entering uncharted territory this La Liga season. For the first time in fourteen years, Karim Benzema will not be pulling on the white shirt. The striker, who won the Ballon d'Or as the world's best player, departed for Saudi Arabia in June, leaving behind 354 goals—second only to Cristiano Ronaldo in the club's history. His absence is a void that no single signing can simply fill, yet Madrid's leadership has moved with purpose to reshape the squad around a younger core.

The arithmetic of last season haunts them. Barcelona finished ten points clear, a gap that felt less like a title race and more like a chasm. To bridge it, Madrid spent 103 million euros on Jude Bellingham, the English midfielder who arrives as one of Europe's most promising talents, and acquired Arda Guler, a Turkish prospect with considerable upside. They also brought back Joselu, a thirty-three-year-old journeyman who played twice for Madrid in 2011 and finished last season as Spain's top scorer with sixteen goals for Espanyol. It is an unusual mix—youth and experience, ambition and pragmatism.

But the elephant in the room is Kylian Mbappe. The Paris Saint-Germain forward, who has scored 212 goals in 260 appearances, remains Madrid's true obsession. After missing out on him last summer when Mbappe signed a new contract to stay in Paris, the club appears positioned to finally land him—though not this window. Mbappe is currently training with PSG's reserve squad, locked in a contract dispute with the French champions. Madrid's leadership suspects he has already agreed to join them on a free transfer next June, a waiting game that coach Carlo Ancelotti has been careful not to discuss publicly. "He is a player who is not at Madrid," Ancelotti said last month, deflecting the question with diplomatic precision.

For now, the burden falls on Vinicius Junior. The Brazilian winger has inherited the number seven shirt, a jersey worn by Ronaldo, Raul, and Emilio Butragueno before him. Ancelotti plans to build an attack that leverages the creative potential of Bellingham and Guler alongside Vinicius, a system designed to generate goals from multiple sources rather than relying on one dominant figure. "We have lost a player who has been fundamental for years," Ancelotti acknowledged. "But we have a very young group that we are convinced will give us a lot of satisfaction."

Barcelona, meanwhile, faces a different kind of pressure. The Catalan club's financial situation remains precarious. They have continued their strategy of signing experienced players on free transfers, bringing in Ilkay Gundogan from Manchester City and Inigo Martinez from Athletic Bilbao. They considered reuniting with Lionel Messi, but the club's dire circumstances made it impossible; Messi went to Inter Miami instead. The loss of Sergio Busquets, who joined Messi in Miami, represents perhaps their deepest wound. Busquets was not merely a player but an institution—a midfielder who shaped Barcelona's identity for over a decade. Coach Xavi Hernandez has called finding his replacement essential to competing for the title. Oriol Romeu, returning to his boyhood club, is their answer, though whether a low-cost acquisition can truly fill that role remains uncertain. Barcelona also faces the possibility of losing Ousmane Dembele to PSG, further thinning their attacking depth.

Atletico Madrid finished third last season, just one point behind Barcelona, and has moved aggressively to strengthen. Cesar Azpilicueta arrived from Chelsea, Caglar Soyuncu from Leicester, and Javi Galan from Celta Vigo, a defensive reinforcement that suggests Diego Simeone believes his team can mount a genuine title challenge. Joao Felix, the club's record signing from 2019, is not part of those plans and is expected to leave.

The landscape has shifted. Real Madrid waits for Mbappe while building around Bellingham and Vinicius. Barcelona scrambles to maintain depth with limited resources. Atletico Madrid has quietly strengthened and believes it can compete. The season begins this weekend, and for the first time in years, the outcome feels genuinely uncertain.