Alvaro Arbeloa is confident that Dani Carvajal will get the send-off he deserves as he prepares to bring the curtain down on his trophy-laden career with Real Madrid on Saturday.
It was confirmed earlier this week that Carvajal, who has been with the club since 2013, would depart at the end of the season as the 34-year-old seeks a new challenge.
During his time with the club, the Spanish international has made 450 appearances in all competitions, scoring 14 goals as well as winning a whopping 27 major trophies.
Most notably, six of those have come in the Champions League, with Carvajal the most decorated player in the competition alongside former team-mate Luka Modric.
However, with the arrival of Trent Alexander-Arnold last summer, the full-back has been limited to just 22 games in all competitions this season, nine of which have been starts.
Carvajal will play for the final time at Estadio Bernabeu on Saturday when Madrid face Athletic Club, a side the Spaniard has won 11 of his 18 LaLiga matches against, only managing more victories against Granada (12), Espanyol (14) and Real Sociedad (15) in the top-flight.
"Carvajal is a symbol of what a Real Madrid player should be," Arbeloa, who also confirmed he would be leaving the club at the end of the campaign, said.
"The fact that he is from home, a homegrown player, and laid the first stone of Real Madrid makes him special and unique.
"It will be a very nice day for all of us to be able to give him a tribute and an ovation as he deserves.
"He will be a starter, and when I replace him, I hope everyone gets back on their feet and keeps a nice memory of tomorrow.
"I'm sure he's going to be proud of what he's done for Real Madrid, and we've been very lucky with him."
It had to be @DaniCarvajal92...
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadriden) May 21, 2026
Campo de Estrellas: Dani Carvajal - RM Play pic.twitter.com/rtNZjxHC23
With the news that Arbeloa would not be in charge next season, and Jose Mourinho reportedly edging closer to a sensational return, the Madrid boss took the time to thank the players during his time in charge.
Arbeloa took charge of 27 matches in all competitions, winning 17 of those (D2 L8), but oversaw another trophyless domestic season for Los Blancos.
"I am very grateful to all of them for what we have been through over the last four months," Arbeloa added.
"I realise that with 25 people, you can't have the same relationship with everyone. I'm sure that over these months we've had our differences, as is to be expected.
"I won't be the first or the last. Any manager can have differences with his players, but I've always resolved them in the best possible way, and they've done the same with me.
"They've always shown me great respect, and I've tried to show them the same in return."
Arbeloa and Carvajal's final game sees them take on an Athletic team that are also saying goodbye to Ernesto Valverde once the 2025-26 campaign finishes.
Athletic are 12th in LaLiga and preparing for a new era next season, with former Borussia Dortmund boss Edin Terzic confirmed to replace Valverde in the summer.
When asked what he wanted to see from his final game in charge, Valverde said: "It's my last match, and the team's last of the season too.
"We want to finish on a high, even though we know how tough it is to play at the Bernabeu. We're focused on these 90 minutes.
"After that, there's the World Cup and holidays, but the important thing for us is to focus on the match and try to put in a good performance. It's tough, but we have to give it a go."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Real Madrid – Vinicius Junior
After his goal against Sevilla last time out, only Bayern Munich's Harry Kane (28) has scored more goals in all competitions in 2026 than Vinicius' 17 among players from the top five European Leagues.
However, the Brazilian has failed to score in any of his 11 LaLiga appearances against Athletic. He has not played more games against any other opponent without scoring in the competition (also 11 against Getafe).
Athletic Club – Gorka Guruzeta
Guruzeta has scored nine goals in 34 LaLiga appearances for Athletic, and he will be keen to end the 2025-26 season by getting himself on the scoresheet once again.
If he does, this could be only the third time in the last 18 years that their top scorer in a top-flight campaign has failed to reach double figures, following 2021-22 (Inaki Williams, eight goals) and 2020-21 (Alex Berenguer, eight goals).
MATCH PREDICTION: REAL MADRID WIN
Madrid are unbeaten in their last 20 home LaLiga matches against Athletic (W17 D3), since a 0-2 defeat when Vanderlei Luxemburgo was in charge. This is their longest unbeaten home run against the Basque side in the history of the competition.
In addition, Los Blancos boast 100 victories in 189 LaLiga meetings with Athletic Club (D37 L52). Only Madrid against Espanyol (110) and Barcelona against Espanyol (106) have achieved more wins against a single opponent in the history of the competition.
Arbeloa's side have also kept a clean sheet in each of their last two league matches, having conceded in 11 of their previous 12 in the competition. They have not kept three or more consecutive clean sheets in a single league campaign since April 2025 (three).
Athletic, meanwhile, are winless in their last three LaLiga matches (D1 L2) and have lost four of their last five away games in the competition (W1).
But they have drawn three of their last eight away LaLiga matches against Madrid (L5), having lost each of their previous 12 visits to the Bernabeu in the competition.
And they may fancy their chances here with Ernesto Valverde in charge. He has won nine of his 30 LaLiga meetings with Madrid (D4 L17), with only five managers having reached 10 victories against the club in the history of the competition.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Real Madrid – 60.9%
Draw – 20.7%
Athletic Club – 18.4%