The ‘de-Spanishification’ of Real Madrid

The rumor became reality. The speculation that Luis de la Fuente was considering leaving every Real Madrid player out of Spain’s next World Cup squad proved to be true: there was not a single Madrid player whose performances during the past season warranted inclusion. That was despite the club’s investment in young talent during the summer of 2025, including Dean Huijsen ($66 million) and Álvaro Carreras ($57 million). Real Madrid’s disappointing campaign ultimately did the rest. Dani Carvajal might have had a chance had he played more minutes during the closing stretch of the season, but any hope disappeared at 12:30 p.m. when the national team coach unveiled the 26-man squad for the tournament in Canada, the United States and Mexico. Only Gonzalo was included among the reinforcement players who will join the group before traveling to North America.

Slowly, Real Madrid has undergone a process of de-Spanishization. Sergio Ramos’ departure in 2021 marked the beginning of a gradual shift that culminated five years later with De la Fuente’s latest squad list. That same year, then-Spain coach Luis Enrique Martínez chose not to call up a single Madrid player for the European Championship held across the continent. It was only the second time that Real Madrid had gone unrepresented at a major international tournament – World Cups, European Championships or Olympic Games. The first came at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics.

For that European Championship, the two Madrid players with the strongest cases were Sergio Ramos and Nacho. Marco Asensio was also in contention, but none of the three made the final squad. Ramos had been plagued by injuries and appeared in only five games during the final stretch of the season, totaling just 395 minutes. Nacho was omitted despite finishing the campaign strongly, while Asensio’s inconsistency ultimately cost him a place.

From that point on, the influence of Real Madrid players within Spain’s national team steadily declined. At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Luis Enrique did include Madrid players Dani Carvajal and Marco Asensio. By then, Isco had already left the club. One by one, prominent Spanish players departed the Bernabéu. In 2023 it was Asensio. In 2024, Nacho, Joselu – the hero of the semifinal against Bayern Munich – and Kepa left, the latter having arrived on loan from Chelsea following Thibaut Courtois’ serious injury. In 2025, Lucas Vázquez said goodbye after a career that included appearances at Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup. Now Carvajal’s future is uncertain, and Dani Ceballos could be next.

It was shortly after Euro 2021 that Madrid supporters began to sense a lack of confidence in Spanish players. One example came in a Champions League game against Sheriff Tiraspol in September 2021. In the 66th minute, just after Karim Benzema had equalized from the penalty spot, Carlo Ancelotti made four substitutions at once. Two of the players withdrawn were the only Spanish starters that night, full-backs Nacho and Miguel Gutiérrez. Their replacements were Toni Kroos, Luka Modrić, Rodrygo and Luka Jović, while Casemiro and Eden Hazard also entered the game. Real Madrid finished the match with an entirely non-Spanish lineup: Federico Valverde and Eduardo Camavinga at full-back, Courtois in goal, Éder Militão and David Alaba in central defense, Kroos and Modrić in midfield, Rodrygo and Vinícius Júnior on the wings, Benzema in support and Jović up front. Madrid eventually lost 2-1 thanks to a stunning late goal from Sébastien Thill.

Two years later, in January 2023, Real Madrid traveled to Villarreal with a starting lineup that did not feature a single Spanish player: Courtois; Militão, Antonio Rüdiger, Alaba, Ferland Mendy; Modrić, Aurélien Tchouaméni, Kroos; Valverde, Benzema and Vinícius. It was the first time in the club’s history that no Spanish player started a game. Over the course of 4,435 matches, there had always been at least one Spaniard in the lineup. On the bench that day were Nacho, Asensio, Lucas Vázquez, Ceballos, backup goalkeeper Luis López and Jesús Vallejo. Since Florentino Pérez returned to the presidency in 2009, the club had signed 55 players: 14 Spaniards (25.45%) and 41 foreigners (74.55%). In effect, there was one Spain-eligible signing for every three foreign recruits. Of those 14 Spaniards, only Álvaro Arbeloa and Carvajal became long-term starters.

Another example of this transformation came in Real Madrid’s most recent Champions League game. In Munich, the club fielded a lineup with no players eligible for selection by De la Fuente. Brahim Díaz was born in Málaga, but after not being called up by Spain, he completed the process to represent Morocco, drawing on his family roots through his paternal grandmother. Little by little, Real Madrid has lost part of its traditional identity, even in a year marking the 60th anniversary of the club’s sixth European Cup triumph – a title won by a team that featured 11 Spanish players.

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