Real Madrid season preview: Can Xabi Alonso and new faces put them back on top?

It has been a summer of change for Real Madrid, with Xabi Alonso replacing Carlo Ancelotti as head coach and plenty of fresh faces coming through the door.

Much is expected of the former Madrid midfielder — although the fans’ excitement at his early-summer arrival was slightly punctured by the subsequent 4-0 defeat against Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup semi-finals. Now, however, the Alonso era begins in earnest.

Madrid kick off their league campaign when they host Osasuna on Tuesday. Here, The Athletic answers the key questions about what lies ahead.

What are the hopes inside the club?

Expectations are very high behind the scenes.

The number of decisions Alonso was involved in even before his appointment became official, including new signings, demonstrates how much confidence decision-makers have in their new head coach. Alonso looks set to have much more power than his predecessors as coach.

After failing to lift the Club World Cup, or any other major trophy, last season, the objectives are to win La Liga and the Champions League — Madrid’s favourite competition, with a record 15 titles.

Who have they sign?

Madrid have made a big splash in the transfer market following previous years in which they showed more restraint.

They spent more than €180million (£156m; $210m) on four signings — €10m on Trent Alexander-Arnold, so that he could play the Club World Cup with them rather than waiting for his Liverpool contract to expire at the end of June, €58m on Bournemouth’s Spain international centre-back Dean Huijsen, €50m on Benfica left-back Alvaro Carreras and €63m on Argentine playmaker Franco Mastantuono from River Plate.

The latter three arrivals are no older than 22, highlighting how Madrid are investing in promising young players, as they did in previous years when buying Jude Bellingham and Eduardo Camavinga.

Who haven’t they signed?

It is easier to talk about positions than specific names here. Madrid studied the market for a potential signing in midfield, but none of the options have convinced them.

Como’s Nico Paz was considered. Madrid thought about activating their €8million buy-back option on the 20-year-old academy graduate who left them for Serie A just last summer, but ultimately decided he needed more time and space to develop. Paz is expected to remain in northern Italy for at least one more season, with Madrid retaining buy-back options in both 2027 and 2028.

What else is new?

After their Clasico defeat against Barcelona in May — their fourth of the season in Spanish football’s biggest fixture across all competitions — the Madrid board spoke about an upcoming “change of cycle”. Apart from 66-year-old Ancelotti being replaced, two of the club’s longest-serving players, Luka Modric, 39, and 34-year-old Lucas Vazquez, have also left, taking a combined 51 winners’ medals with them.

Alonso has brought a new-look coaching staff with him, while there have been changes at academy level too, with legendary former striker Raul leaving his role as head coach of Castilla, Real Madrid’s ‘B’ team, who play in the Spanish third division. He has been replaced by Alvaro Arbeloa, a close friend of Alonso’s who played alongside him for both Madrid and Liverpool.

Club sources — who, like all those cited in this article, asked to remain anonymous to protect relationships — say they are thinking about the medium to long term with the overall project and have exercised caution in terms of analysing results, although positive results are exactly what will be expected.

Who has been the best player in pre-season?

Officially, Madrid’s ‘pre-season’ has consisted of just two weeks of training at their Valdebebas training ground and one ‘official’ friendly against Austrian top-flight side WSG Tirol last night, but their six games at the Club World Cup in the U.S. effectively replaced their usual tour there.

Huijsen impressed in the tournament, instantly showing leadership after his move from Bournemouth, but Madrid’s standout player was Gonzalo Garcia. The 21-year-old striker was only seen as a promising youngster for Castilla before the Club World Cup, but his four goals made him the tournament’s top scorer and led to him signing a contract extension until 2030 last week.

What should fans be excited about?

After so much criticism of Ancelotti’s style, Alonso’s first message in his opening press conference should give fans hope: “I want the team to convey emotion and energy and to connect with the people. Symbiosis will be fundamental.”

Alonso’s approach is expected to be attacking and entertaining, involving changing tactical plans during games and more important roles for the club’s young players. That is good news for summer arrivals Huijsen, 20, and Carreras, 22, but also those who have been at the club for a while and are yet to fully establish themselves, such as Arda Guler, also 20.

Their strongest XI is…

There are a few caveats to the above selection.

Carvajal, who is the captain, played 19 minutes at the Club World Cup after recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) knee injury that had kept him out since October, so he may well return to his starting position at right-back despite Alexander-Arnold’s arrival.

Bellingham, meanwhile, is still recovering from post-tournament shoulder surgery and will not return until October. After that, it is entirely reasonable to expect him to overtake Guler or Mastantuono in the starting line-up, depending on how the youngsters are performing.

And finally, it will all depend on the system chosen by Alonso, who showed flexibility in playing a back three at times during the Club World Cup.