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Marcus Rashford has been filmed arriving at Barcelona's headquarters in a suit, ahead of his move to the club being formally announced.

• Rashford arrives at Barcelona
• Set to be unveiled
• Joining Catalan club on loan

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Rashford is at Barcelona's headquarters, ahead of a loan move to the Catalan giants from Manchester United. He is set to join on a short-term deal with an option to buy after the club failed in their pursuit of Athletic Club star Nico Williams.

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  Rashford attended Barca's HQ alongside his family, and was seen giving his mother a kiss before heading into the building, while also waving at assembled supporters. He is now set to seek first-team football in Catalonia, after spending the second half of the 2024-25 campaign on loan at Aston Villa.

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  WHAT NEXT?

  Rashford has already completed the formalities of his move, with an announcement swiftly following. It remains to be seen, however, if he will be able to be registered, given the club's ongoing financial issues.

Gianluigi Donnarumma has reportedly been told by Paris Saint-Germain about their plan to sign Lucas Chevalier from LOSC Lille, leaving the Italian understandably frustrated.

• Donnarumma unhappy with PSG
• Chevalier joining European champions from Lille
• Italian linked with move away

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The French and European champions have agreed a deal to bring the 23-year-old Frenchman to the club, in a move that has disturbed the Italian goalkeeper. report that, when Donnarumma was made aware of Chevalier's imminent arrival, he wasn't pleased amid uncertainties over his place in the starting line-up. Donnarumma was integral to PSG's success in the Champions League last season and will clearly be upset to have been cast aside.

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  Should Donnarumma, whose contract expires in 2026, be made available for transfer, it will alert a number of leading clubs across Europe and the rest of the world. Both Manchester United and Chelsea are searching for a new man between the sticks, with Andre Onana and Robert Sanchez yet to prove a stable, safe pair of hands. Donnarumma would provide a comprehensive upgrade for both Premier League clubs, but there are yet to be any club-to-club discussions. Given the 26-year-old's contract situation, PSG will be determined to get the highest fee possible in the summer transfer window to avoid the risk of losing him for nothing.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  United's hunt for a new goalkeeper has proven to be a thankless task so far this window. Moves for Botafogo's John Victor and Aston Villa's Emiliano Martinez have failed to materialise and there appears to be few clubs ready to take the error-prone Onana off of their hands. The Red Devils' transfer woes do not stop their either, with reports on August 2 claiming that Benjamin Sesko has chosen Newcastle over Old Trafford as his next club.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR DONNARUMMA?

  It is unknown whether Donnarumma will agitate for a move or remain in the French capital to fight for his place. That said, should Chevalier start the Ligue 1 season as the No.1 – which RMC Sport reports is Luis Enrique's plan – a late-window deal for the Italy international could be a real possibility for United or Chelsea.

Josh Windass scored Wrexham's first Championship goal in 43 years after converting from the spot at Southampton.

• Wrexham take on Southampton
• Moore wins Welsh side a penalty
• Windass converts from the spot

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  In Wrexham's Championship season opener at St Mary's, Kieffer Moore won his side a penalty, and then fellow summer signing Windass slotted home the subsequent spotkick in the 22nd minute. The Welsh team have been out of this division for more than four decades but they looked right at home in the first half against Southampton.

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  After securing three straight promotions from the National League, Wrexham were expected to struggle a bit more in the Championship. But so far, Phil Parkinson's men look well suited to the English second-tier. Another promotion may be a step too far but they have made a positive start.

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  WHAT NEXT?

  After this game against Will Still's Southampton, Wrexham entertain fellow Championship outfit Hull City in the first round of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday, before hosting West Brom next Saturday in their next league fixture.

Alexander Isak has been left furious after learning that Newcastle United are determined to sell him in the summer transfer window. The transfer saga, involving Isak, has been going on since the start of the window as the Swedish striker expressed his desire to leave the Magpies and sign for Liverpool. The Reds even launched a massive bid, which was knocked back by Newcastle.

• Isak won't be sold this summer
• Isak left fuming after learning about his future
• Liverpool still want the Swedish forward

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Earlier this week, Sky Sports reported that Isak had trained alone in Newcastle's facilities on Wednesday, as he continued to push for a potential move to Liverpool, amid reports of a British-record £150 million ($200m) second bid from the Premier League champions. The striker arrived at the training ground as the rest of the squad were leaving, fresh from a 'family day', from which Isak was excluded.

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  Now, reports that Isak has been informed that the Magpies won't sell him in the summer window and that left the Sweden international furious. The striker will also not be allowed to play for the club until he comes to terms that he won't be able to exit St James' Park, at least in the current window. 

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Newcastle themselves have missed out on securing transfers for two key targets this window as Hugo Ekitike signed for the Reds, while Benjamin Sesko opted to join Manchester United. Eddie Howe is still pushing for a new striker, although even if the club manage to sign a new forward, Isak will still remain at the club.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR NEWCASTLE?

  Newcastle are set to face Atletico Madrid in their final pre-season friendly on Saturday before they kick off the new season against Aston Villa on August 16.

Alvaro Morata has revealed he had to forgo part of his salary in order to escape Galatasaray and join Como as the striker publicly criticise the club.

• Morata's loan spell at Galatasaray terminated early
• Spanish forward slams Turkish club for the feud
• 32-year-old to play for Como

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  After his contract was officially terminated at Galatasaray, Morata took to social media and slammed the Super Lig outfit for not fulfilling certain commitments. The Turkish club initially refused to let him leave this summer despite him having no place in their first-team plans for the upcoming season before they finally relinquished and agreed to release him after intervention from Milan and Como.

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  Morata joined Galatasaray on loan in February and his contract, which was supposed to end next January, had a buy option of €8 million. After failing to have much of an impact in Turkey, Morata chose to join Como this summer, but the Turkish club demanded a €10m fee as compensation. Milan finally reached an agreement with Galatasaray that will see the Serie A side pay €3m plus potential bonuses, thus terminating the loan. Como, meanwhile, will need to pay €10m to Milan.

• WHAT MORATA SAID

  With the saga now behind him, Morata took to Instagram to criticise Galatasaray, saying: "Until the very end, the commitments made were not honoured, to the point where I was left with no choice but to forgo part of my salary and other contractual rights I had already earned through my work (the figure published is not accurate). For me, in life and in work, there are principles that should never be broken, such as respect for each person’s rights. Failing to recognize and compensate what has been earned is, to me, unacceptable and contrary to the values of fairness and professionalism I believe in. I know these matters are often not spoken about openly, but I believe it is right to give the fans the real explanation of what happened. You and the city of Istanbul will always remain in my heart, and I wish you the very best, today and in the future."

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  WHAT NEXT FOR MORATA?

  Morata will now represent Como. His first potential match could be against Sudtirol in the Coppa Italia.

Spurs have a long history of failing to get deals over the line in the transfer market, with the circumstances usually unique

When it comes to defining 'Spursy', the footballing community should hold itself to a higher standard. Any team can lose after going two goals up, any side can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, and ultimately, every fanbase thinks that the universe has it in for them. That's just how sport works.

For Tottenham, however, there is more of a unique history of shenanigans which range from painful, like Sol Campbell's move across north London to Arsenal for free after he said he would stay, to ironic, such as their director of football Fabio Paratici receiving a global footballing ban while running their transfer operations.

Even on the recruitment level, most clubs find themselves stuck in what feels like an endless loop of misadventure – Manchester United supporters were well versed with Nico Gaitan from about 2012 to 2015 without him ever playing for them, for example. But again, the case of Spurs feels strangely unique, with some of their failed deals owing to the most incredible circumstances.

Here are 10 of the most incredulous tales they have found themselves in:

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  Gibbs-White's release clause

  We'll start with the most recent grievance, and it's already among the most major in Spurs' history. On July 10, news broke that Tottenham had triggered the £60 million ($80.5m) release clause in the contract of Nottingham Forest midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White, and he would undertake a medical the next day. Reports of Spurs' interest only came out a couple of hours before this, and shortly after they had completed the £55m ($74m) signing of Mohammed Kudus, lifting the general mood around the club after a slow start to the summer window.

  What happened next will live long in the memory. Instead of Gibbs-White undergoing a medical, Forest threatened Spurs with legal action and later lodged a complaint to the Premier League over their approach, believing the release clause was secretive and there was a breach of confidentiality. It did initially seem as though this would only delay the deal, and various transfer window insiders claimed that ultimately the player would end up in north London.

  There was a fortnight of relative silence. Nobody outside of the two clubs involved seemed to know for sure what was happening. There were reports that Manchester City could reignite their historic interest and Forest would prefer to sell to them given their newfound vendetta against Tottenham, but that didn't come to pass.

  Late on July 26, Forest announced that Gibbs-White had signed a 'record' three-year contract and would be staying. He and the club's social media accounts repeatedly thanked owner Evangelos Marinakis for making it happen, in what was among the strangest uses of the internet since it became a worldwide public forum. But whatever you make of how weird that was, Spurs had been rumbled somehow.

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  Eze hijacked

  Eberechi Eze is, by all accounts, one of football’s good guys. He even really wanted to sign for Tottenham despite his boyhood allegiances to the team from down the road, Arsenal. It’s part of the reason why it will be so painful for Spurs fans that they will have to hate him for the rest of their lives.

  By the morning of August 20, 2025, Tottenham, Crystal Palace and Eze himself had a broad agreement over a transfer. Following the first leg of the Eagles’ Conference League play-off against Norwegian side Fredrikstad, the door would be opened for a move to go through and be signed off by the top brass at Selhurst Park.

  Around the same time, Arsenal were lurking. They had just learned Kai Havertz would spend an unspecified amount of time sidelined with another knee injury and needed reinforcement in the final third. They had considered Eze earlier in the window, but decided against advancing that interest. This is what allowed Spurs, themselves looking to replace a maverick with a knee problem in the ACL-ridden James Maddison, a window of opportunity. It slammed shut right on their fingertips.

  Arsenal dallied no longer. They went to Palace and told them they would match whatever Spurs were willing to pay, perhaps even add a little more on top. For a week, Eze was a Tottenham player in waiting, and they failed to get him over the line. A month on from the Gibbs-White nonsense, the club had outdone themselves again.

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  Dybala's image rights

  Tottenham's 2019 summer window, which immediately followed their first and only appearance in a Champions League final, saw them smash their transfer record to sign Tanguy Ndombele for an initial £55m. And yet they nearly spent an even greater sum on a vastly more proven player.

  Mauricio Pochettino, not knowing he was heading into his final few months in the manager's job, wanted to refresh his attack, and set his sights high with a top target of Paulo Dybala. Then of Juventus, the Argentine forward was open to joining Spurs, even though he was happy in Turin and felt he was being forced out by the club for no good reason.

  The problem for Tottenham was when they chose to conduct their business. Chairman Daniel Levy is known for preferring to move late in the window in order to get better value on deals, and this wasn't the first time that he gave himself too much to do in a short space of time.

  For 2018 and 2019, the Premier League experimented with closing the transfer window before the opening day of the season, mainly to appease clubs who said leaving it open for the entirety of August left them vulnerable and they should be able to begin a campaign with a settled squad. The rest of Europe refused to follow in their lead, and so English sides shot themselves in the foot despite their best of intentions.

  Spurs stepped up their interest in Dybala in the final week of the Premier League's window and came to a broad £70m agreement with about 48 hours before the deadline, but they were yet to solve a two-word issue that has become folklore for the wrong reasons – . When he was younger, Dybala sold his image rights to a third-party marketing company known as Star Group, and in order for Tottenham to register him, they would need to purchase those as well. The legal matter became too complex with too little time to navigate and the move was called off.

  In 2021, Dybala settled this dispute with Star Group for little over £30m, showing just how much more Spurs would have had to pay to get the deal done.

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  Willian's medical

  A story as famous on these shores as the player himself. Amid their £100m splurge on players to fill the hole about to be left by Gareth Bale, Tottenham targeted Anzhi Makhachkala winger Willian and agreed a £30m fee. What's more, he even underwent a medical and a deal seemed to be complete, when all of a sudden Chelsea entered the race. The player's head was turned and he left Spurs in the lurch to join their fierce London rivals instead.

  Willian later revealed that he only found out about Chelsea's bid as he arrived at Tottenham's training ground, where he was told by his agent to get back in the van he arrived in so they could set forth for the Blues' Cobham base instead. Though sometimes a frustrating player, Willian was adored by the Chelsea faithful for his work ethic, contributions in winning several titles, and the chant they were able to sing on the terraces:

Manchester United are moving towards a deal for Royal Antwerp goalkeeper Senne Lammens, who was dropped by his club for their last game.

• Man Utd discussing Lammens terms
• Goalkeeper left out of weekend game
• Antwerp overruled his wishes to play

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Lammens didnt play in Antwerp's Belgian Pro League win over Mechelen on Sunday. has reported that wasn't his choice, with the club making the decision to remove the goalkeeper from the squad in the wake of progressing talks to sell him to United.

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  Lammens himself still wanted to play, but the suggestion is that Antwerp viewed his involvement in that game a risk in case an injury jeopardised the proposed £17.3 million ($23.4m) transfer. The talks are ongoing, as Antwerp head coach Stef Wils has also confirmed, and agreeing personal terms with the player is not thought to be a problem for United.

• WHAT ANTWERP SAID

  Speaking via Belgian outlet , Wils said: "Transfer talks are ongoing. Senne is handling the situation calmly."

  Antwerp striker Vincent Janssen has also spoken on the situation: "Senne is one of the few guys who really doesn't say much about such things. We read more in the media than we hear from Senne himself. He's very calm about it. Well, wherever he signs, he'll definitely be able to make a fantastic move. He deserves it. Senne has already proven he can handle a step up."

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• DID YOU KNOW?

  The arrival of Lammens at old Trafford is not expected to signal Andre Onana's exit. There are no offers for the Cameroon international, who is set to compete with the 23-year-old for a starting place. In this scenario, the more likely casualty is Altay Bayindir, who has started both Premier League games so far this season while Onana has been building fitness after a pre-season injury.

Sunday's game at Anfield was there for the taking, but it was the champions who stepped up – not the pretenders to their throne

Dull games are often decided by a moment of madness or magic. At Anfield on Sunday, it was very much the latter, as Dominik Szoboszlai earned Liverpool a 1-0 victory over Arsenal with a stunning free-kick.

The odds were against the Hungarian, with the ball lying 32 yards from the Gunners' goal, but Szoboszlai's strike was sensational – and utterly unstoppable even for a goalkeeper of David Raya's quality.

But what should we take away from this clash between the top two teams in England last season? Is it too early to start worrying about Arsenal's inability to beat their main title rivals away from home? Are Liverpool still a cut above everyone else in the Premier League?

GOAL runs through all the big winners and losers from a predominantly dull match on Merseyside that was illuminated by a brilliant goal…

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  WINNER: Dominik Szoboszlai

  Liverpool were never really likely to miss Trent Alexander-Arnold from a defensive perspective. However, even those left bitterly disappointed by the Scouser's summer switch to Real Madrid freely admitted that the Reds were losing a wonderful passer of the ball and a tremendous set-piece specialist.

  Maybe, though, Alexander-Arnold's acrimonious exit was a blessing in disguise.

  "I should mention Trent because he was taking the free-kicks in the past," Szoboszlai said in his post-match interview with . "Finally, I could have my chance – and I took it."

  It should be acknowledged that Szoboszlai didn't just score a free-kick that Alexander-Arnold would have been proud of – he also once again did an absolutely fantastic job filling in at right-back due to the unavailability of the injured Jermie Frimpong and Conor Bradley's lack of match fitness. Some players would have been miffed by being asked to slot into the defence, particularly after seeing their starting spot in midfield taken by an expensive new signing in Florian Wirtz, but Szoboszlai really is a true team player, as he proved last season with his selfless and incessant pressing.

  He stepped up brilliantly to the challenge at Newcastle on Monday, and effectively created the match-winner with an outrageous dummy after being moved back into his preferred position late on, but he was even more impressive on Sunday. The winner was Trent-esque but his diligent and disciplined defensive display was anything but, with Szoboszlai completely nullifying the threat posed by Gabriel Martinelli.

  As Slot said on , "Dominik shows what Liverpool is all about. If he has to play right wing, right full-back, as a 10, he gives his best. He was outstanding again today."

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  LOSER: William Saliba

  It was not a good day to be a French centre-back at Anfield. Arsenal took a massive risk by starting William Saliba, who rolled his ankle in the warm-up, and it backfired badly, with the 24-year-old forced off less than five minutes into the game.

  Saliba's compatriot, Ibrahima Konate, lasted much longer, and his premature departure was merely down to cramp, although it remains to be seen if he'll be cleared to link up with Didier Deschamps' squad during the international break.

  Arteta was rightly thrilled with the way in which Cristhian Mosquera performed after his unexpectedly early introduction, but Saliba's enforced withdrawal is obviously a major cause for concern.

  On the plus side, Arsenal aren't short of options, given Ricardo Calafiori can easily play at centre-back, while Piero Hincapie has just joined on loan from Bayer Leverkusen. However, the Gunners have seen previous title bids flounder without Saliba, so they'll be praying the former Marseille man avoids another lengthy spell on the sidelines.

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  WINNER: Liverpool's back four

  Liverpool may have won their first two Premier League games of the season – but they defended terribly in both games, against Bournemouth and Newcastle. In that context, the most pleasing aspect of Sunday's win from Slot's perspective is likely to be the clean sheet – his team's first in a competitive fixture since the 1-0 win at Leicester City on April 20.

  And it wasn't just down to Szoboszlai's versatility – or Virgil van Dijk being his usual unflappable self in the centre of defence. Alisson Becker was called into action just once because Milos Kerkez put a couple of very dodgy displays behind him by doing a fantastic job containing, first, Noni Madueke, and then, Max Dowman. Nobody won more duels (seven) than the former Bournemouth left-back, who will be feeling much, much better about his game going into the international break.

  Konate may be in a bit more pain, after hobbling off late on at Anfield, but the Frenchman will be proud of the way in which he bounced back after a calamitous start to the season, as he more than played his part in Arsenal's star striker, Viktor Gyokeres, going missing in action on Merseyside.

  But it would be remiss of us not to mention another player that never lets Liverpool down. Joe Gomez came on for Konate with just over 10 minutes remaining and was absolutely fantastic, making three crucial interventions that helped Slot's side see out the game.

  The signing of Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace before the close of the transfer window still feels essential, given Gomez's inability to stay fit for very long, and Konate's contractual situation. However, Slot will be more than a little relieved that his defence is keeping clean sheets again.

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  LOSER: Expensive attacking talent

  Both Liverpool and Arsenal have spent colossal amounts of cash strengthening their attacks during the summer – but not one of the big-money buys made a big impact at Anfield.

  Hugo Ekitike boasted a 100 percent strike rate coming into the game but, for the first time this season, the France international was starved of service and got just one touch in the opposition box. It was a similar story for Gyokeres, who, like Ekitike, didn't manage to get single shot away and struggled with the physicality of Van Dijk, Konate and Gomez.

  Florian Wirtz showed some flashes of what he can do, twice picking out the terribly ineffective Mohamed Salah in dangerous positions, but the Germany international once again failed to influence a Premier League game and is clearly still struggling with the physicality and intensity of English football.

  Madueke was far livelier on Arsenal's right flank, where he was deputising for Bukayo Saka, but doubts persist over his end product, given the former Chelsea man didn't actually make a telling contribution before being replaced by Dowman.

  As for Eberechi Eze, he was rather surprisingly given just 20 minutes on his Arsenal debut and wasted a glorious chance to equalise by failing to keep his balance as he broke into the Liverpool box late on.

  Fair to say, then, that much more will be expected of Eze & Co. when these two sides meet again at the Emirates in January.

The Rossonere are yet to win a trophy on the women's side, but hope high-profile friendlies can help with their Serie A and Champions League goals

On Saturday, Chelsea’s preparations for the new season, in which they will be defending three domestic trophies, will come to a climax. The Blues will play their final pre-season friendly in front of their home fans at Kingsmeadow, who witnessed an unprecedented unbeaten domestic campaign in Sonia Bompastor’s first year in charge.

Chelsea did not lose a game in the Women’s Super League, FA Cup or League Cup as they scooped up an incredible treble in 2024-25, each player and staff member etching their name into the history books in the process. But they were not content. A Champions League semi-final defeat to Barcelona left the Blues unsatisfied despite the amazing work done across the board, as that trophy once again eluded them. That it instead landed in the hands of London rivals Arsenal will have only added to the hurt and the motivation to put forth a better European title charge this time around.

It's fair to say that it is a compliment to AC Milan, then, to have been chosen as the opponents for Chelsea’s final game before another highly-anticipated season kicks off next Friday, at home to Manchester City. The Rossonere have a young team – in that it was founded just seven years ago and also because it had the third-youngest squad in Serie A last term. But that it has been cherry-picked as the final test for Bompastor’s winning machine, a year on from playing three-time European champions Barcelona in the Joan Gamper Trophy, suggests it is doing something right…

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  Taking steps forward

  There are not many bigger clubs in world football than Milan. Only Real Madrid have won more European Cups on the men’s side, and only Juventus have enjoyed more success in the Italian domestic game than the Rossoneri. It’s a club synonymous with the big stage, big players and big titles.

  Now, it is looking to build success on the women’s side. Most clubs in Serie A Femminile are very young, with Italy a little behind other European nations in the women’s football world despite having more historic roots in it than most. Alongside Milan, all of Juventus, Roma and Inter also founded their women’s team in 2017 or later, with only three clubs in this season’s top-flight established before 2014.

  But there has been a lot of growth in the last six years in particular, starting with Italy’s surprise run to the Women’s World Cup quarter-finals in 2019. Both Juventus and Roma have made a splash in the Champions League since then, putting up good fights against Lyon and Barcelona in their respective maiden quarter-finals, while the Azzurre put women’s football even more firmly on the map across the nation this past summer with their run to the Euro 2025 semi-finals.

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  Tapping into success

  Like many, Suzanne Bakker, head coach of Milan, hopes Italy’s success in Switzerland can have a positive impact on the domestic league and the interest in it across the country. But the majority of her focus this past summer has been on how the Rossonere can improve and muscle in on the chase for silverware that has largely been dominated by Juventus and Roma in this new professional era of Italian women’s football.

  Milan had two players in the Italy squad at Euro 2025, in goalkeeper Laura Giuliani and defender Julie Piga, and to ask Bakker what they can bring to her team, which finished fifth in Serie A last season, elicits an interesting response. “One of the success points for them was to be a team, then you can reach a really high level together. What does that mean? To be a team and to be a team player?” she ponders, speaking to GOAL ahead of the club’s trip to England to take on Chelsea.

  “Now, in the pre-season, everyone is happy because all the players are playing, but you see that when they are disappointed, or maybe about an injury when that happens, or maybe they play less, then you see the true attitude of a player. Then we need all professionals, I think, and they can help, because Laura was, of course, the first goalkeeper, but Julie was more of a sub, but she comes in and she was also very valuable for the team because sometimes you forget that it's not only the players who play on the pitch that are important.

  “It's the whole team and each player has their own quality and some of the players are pushing every day on the pitch, and they play maybe less minutes during the games, but they are so important. The other players who are maybe long time injured can also bring the right mentality to other players who may be complaining because they play less. I think sometimes we forget that. They can bring that experience and also that high intensity, what it means to play on the highest level in Europe. They can bring that to the other players and they are doing that because they are both leaders in our team.”

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  Making her mark

  It's an interesting reflection on how a golden summer for Italy can connect to Milan’s upcoming season because, in truth, there are more differences than similarities between the two sides. That is particularly the case in the playing style.

  Bakker’s background is dominated by Ajax, the club where she was the head coach of the Under-19s for four years before stepping into the first-team job in 2022. In two seasons in charge, she led the club to its third and most recent league title, a Dutch Cup triumph and a first Women’s Champions League quarter-final. Incidentally, Chelsea were the opponents, emerging victorious over two legs, the second of which was a 1-1 draw.

  When Milan were searching for a new coach last year, it was Bakker they were drawn to. In the first conversation between her and the club, the Dutchwoman asked what was expected in terms of playing style, and the response was that they wanted her to bring what she learned at Ajax, a club with a philosophy that is universally revered.

  Understandably, exporting that unique brand of football comes with its challenges. Ajax leans heavily on a youth set-up where all its academy products spend years learning this style and, as such, come to understand it heavily. In Milan, Bakker is having to start from scratch. “It takes more time,” she concedes.

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  Steady improvement

  But the progress being made in that regard has been telling both on and off the pitch. In Serie A Femminile, the division splits in half for the final two months of the season, meaning the top five teams play each other home and away for the final stretch of the campaign, while the bottom five meet twice more. It’s a brutal run of games for those in the top half in particular, given the quality opposition they have to face every single week, but it’s a good learning curve for a team like Milan as it tries to bridge that gap to Juventus and Roma.

  The players can see the level needed and rise to it, as Milan did by losing just two of those eight matches. “With all respect to the [bottom five teams], the intensity is different,” Bakker remarks. “All the players have much more information and experience [from that] which will help them this season.”

  When the coach sat down with her players after her first campaign ended, she was given further indication that things were moving in the right direction.

  “They like the way that we are playing,” Bakker explains. “To be honest, in the first months, it took a little bit too much time to find the right connections on the pitch. Also for me, and for some of the other staff members, it was new. There are 26 players and I know only two players from the Netherlands – and I only know them a little bit. To understand them and also what it means to play in Serie A, it's totally different than in the Netherlands, for example. We learned a lot in the first weeks but it takes also too much time and we lost some points.

  “But if you see how we finish the competition against the top four teams, we are competitive with them. You can see that in the results and also in the way we want to play. I'm very proud of that.”

Carlo Ancelotti's side have been dethroned in the Spanish top flight after Los Blancos' many chickens came home to roost in 2024-25

It's official: Real Madrid are no longer the champions of Spain, their La Liga crown on its way to Barcelona after the Catalans sealed the title with Thursday's win over Espanyol. But not only have Madrid been dethroned domestically, they are now officially going to end the season without any major trophies to their name. Victories in the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Intercontinental Cup may have been nice at the time, while the Club World Cup could still be theirs this summer, but the competitions that Madrid really wanted to win have passed them by in 2024-25.

Twelve months ago, that would have been unthinkable. After Carlo Ancelotti had guided an already uber-talented squad to a La Liga-Champions League double, Los Blancos added Kylian Mbappe to the mix in a move that was meant to usher in an era of dominance in Madrid. Throw in the arrival of Brazilian wonderkid Endrick, and it was difficult to see any team who, on paper, could challenge what Florentino Perez had assembled at Santiago Bernabeu.

Football is not won on paper, however, and Madrid struggled from the off this season. They have shown glimpses of their best in both La Liga and the Champions League, but in the end they were thoroughly outclassed when it came to the crunch. And so while the talent of Madrid's individuals cannot be questioned, it soon became clear that this was a deeply flawed team, and that has led to a forgettable campaign in the capital for which Ancelotti is paying with his job.

So who is to blame, and how does Xabi Alonso fix the problems that plagued Madrid over the past nine months? GOAL looks at where it all went wrong for Los Blancos…

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  Mbappe's impact

  When Madrid confirmed the signing of Mbappe after years of trying to get him out of Paris Saint-Germain, there were two predictions made by most fans and pundits: that Mbappe would score a lot of goals for the Spanish giants, but that his signing might have a negative impact on others. Both have played out as many expected.

  Mbappe has scored goals – more than any other Madrid player ever has in their debut season for the club, in fact. His strike in Wednesday's win over Mallorca was his 39th in all competitions, and few would bet against him breaking the 40 mark in the final two games of the campaign. But those goals have come at an undeniable price.

  Spin it however you like, but Vinicius Jr and Mbappe are most comfortable playing in the same position on the left wing. Some pointed towards Mbappe's performances in a two-striker formation for France, or referenced the fact that Vinicius played on the right when Madrid beat Manchester City in last season's Champions League as reasons why the pair could be compatible, but it's clear that they were clutching at straws.

  The plan was for Mbappe to play as a No.9, with Vinicius and Rodrygo either side of him while Jude Bellingham moved back into a more traditional midfield role after thriving as a false nine during his own debut campaign at the Bernabeu. And while Mbappe has found a way to make it work for himself, the overall attacking structure hasn't been functioning. He has continued to drift out to the left-hand side at times, while he doesn't make the instinctive runs or offer the hold-up play of a more traditional central striker.

  Bellingham's own La Liga goal total has dropped from 19 last season to just eight this – and seven of those came between November and the first week in January. Rodrygo, meanwhile, has looked a pale imitation of himself given how much of Madrid's play has come down their left, and he has thus been benched for a number of key games coming down the stretch.

  Defensively, meanwhile, Mbappe's reluctance to work hard off the ball has begun to rub off on some of his high-profile team-mates. As such, they lack coherence when they have the ball, and find themselves outnumbered without it. Mbappe may have held up the goal-scoring side of the bargain, but so many of Madrid's other issues are rooted in his introduction to the team.

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  Vinicius' rotten revenge tour

  No one, however, has been impacted on as negatively by Mbappe's arrival as Vinicius. His overall goal involvement statistics haven't noticeably dropped – he has 36 combined goals and assists in all competitions this season compared to 37 in 2023-24 – but there is no doubt that Vini is nowhere near as decisive as he has proven to be in recent years.

  Mbappe limiting the space Vinicius has to operate in has certainly caused some of the Brazilian's issues, and one of Alonso's biggest jobs once he arrives from Bayer Leverkusen will be to figure out how to get the best out of his two superstar attackers. But the ex-Madrid midfielder-turned-coach also needs to find a way to get Vincius out of his post-Ballon d'Or funk.

  The winger's public strop at not winning the 2024 Golden Ball amused many, but most expected Vinicius to be true to his word when he clapped back at his snub by claiming that fans "weren't ready" for his on-pitch response. That feeling certainly grew after he marked his first league game following the ceremony in Paris with a hat-trick to beat Osasuna, but as it turned out, that was the high point of Vinicius' campaign.

  He has scored just three La Liga goals since netting that treble on November 9, while the majority of his strikes in the Champions League from December onwards have been inconsequential to the final result. If anything, Vinicius has looked to be trying too hard to prove himself to the watching world, as everything about his play has been forced, desperate and even reckless at times.

  Ancelotti, meanwhile, has grown increasingly frustrated with the ex-Flamengo starlet, and has been seen imploring Vinicius to defend and berating him when he doesn't track back. Rumours of a potential move to Saudi Arabia look to be going away for now, but there is no doubt that Madrid need Vinicius back towards his best if they are to get themselves back on top.

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  Injury woes

  One element of Madrid's demise that Mbappe cannot be blamed for is that of the injury problems that have piled up over the course of the campaign. Every team in world football has to deal with fitness issues over the course of an increasingly busy season, but Los Blancos have been hit more than most by injury-enforced absences in 2024-25.

  By mid-November, Ancelotti had lost the whole right side of his preferred defence after Dani Carvajal and Eder Militao both suffered season-ending ACL injuries, while David Alaba has struggled to put a run of games together ever since returning from his own long-term knee problem in January.

  Eduardo Camavinga, meanwhile, will end the season having missed half of Madrid's league games due to various injuries, and Ferland Mendy hasn't played since mid-March after suffering back-to-back muscle injuries. A host of other players have also missed short stints after picking up more minor knocks, while Antonio Rudiger's six-match ban for his Copa del Rey final meltdown brought forward planned meniscus surgery after he had played with severe pain for the past seven months.

  Bellingham is set to join Rudiger in going under the knife this summer as the England midfielder aims to rid himself of the shoulder problem that has been bothering him throughout the season, and though he has been able to soldier on to not further expose Madrid, it is clear that a lack of quality depth has come back to bite them. Los Blancos needed to invest in other areas than just attack last summer but didn't, and the speed with which they are trying to get deals for Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dean Huijsen over the line speaks to them trying to belatedly solve the problem. The shame for them is that, for this season at least, it's too little, too late.

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  Midfield control disappears

  Perhaps the gap Madrid still most need to fill, though, is in the centre of midfield. While Toni Kroos' decision to retire at the age of 34 came as a shock to many, the fact he announced it before last season was over at least gave his club chance to take stock and weigh up their options. In the end, they decided to ride with what they had – and it hasn't worked.

  Kroos' final campaign was perhaps one of his best. His control and cool-headedness in the middle of the park ensured Madrid were always able to stay in control of games regardless of the scoreline. The German could play short and long passes with equal accuracy while both slowing down and speeding the tempo up when necessary. Vinicius and Bellingham scored the goals and grabbed the headlines, but Kroos was the player who made 2023-24 Madrid truly tick.

  Replacing a one-of-a-kind player isn't straightforward, of course, but that Madrid seemingly made no effort to do so has ultimately proved costly. Any sense of control from their games has disappeared, and until they can find a suitable replacement, they may struggle to compete at the very highest level in the future.