Real Madrid Faces Deportivo with Key Players Absent
Real Madrid’s preparations for the 2026/27 season have hit a sharp, early test. Not on the pitch, but on the teamsheet.
On Tuesday, José Mourinho named his travelling squad for Wednesday night’s meeting with Deportivo La Coruña – and the omissions are impossible to ignore. Eleven first‑team players will not make the trip, stripping this friendly of many of its marquee names and handing Mourinho an improvised rehearsal less than two weeks before La Liga restarts.
This is still pre-season, but the stakes are already creeping in.
Heavyweight Names Missing
The list reads like the backbone of a title-chasing side.
Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappé, Rodrygo, Thibaut Courtois, Éder Militão – all out. Add Marc Cucurella, Yan Diomandé, Ferland Mendy, Raúl Asencio, Ibrahima Konaté and Thiago Pitarch, and Mourinho is suddenly without a full XI’s worth of senior options, ruled out by a mix of injuries and a lack of match fitness.
For a club determined to close the gap on Barcelona, this is not the ideal moment to be patching together line-ups.
Real have already worked through several friendlies, including meetings with Fiorentina and Ferencváros, using those games to sharpen patterns of play and test combinations. Now comes Deportivo, newly returned to La Liga and eager to announce themselves again against the biggest name in the country.
Instead of a glamour showcase, the match now becomes something different: a stress test of Real Madrid’s depth.
Mourinho’s Balancing Act
Mourinho knows the calendar is unforgiving. With the league campaign looming, he must juggle fitness, rhythm and risk, all while trying to build a side capable of sustaining a title push over nine months.
This squad announcement underlines where his priorities lie. No gambles, no rushed comebacks. The absences of Courtois and Militão, both crucial pillars in recent seasons, speak to a cautious approach at the back. The missing firepower of Mbappé, Bellingham and Rodrygo shifts the focus onto those fighting for minutes behind them in the pecking order.
For some, this trip to face Deportivo will be a rare chance to convince the coach they belong in the rotation once the real business begins.
Deportivo, buoyed by their return to the top flight, will sense opportunity. A weakened Real Madrid still carries weight, but the aura softens when so many stars stay home. For the hosts, a strong performance against a rotated Madrid side can feed belief ahead of their own survival battle.
For Mourinho, the night is about something else entirely: seeing who can handle responsibility when the usual leaders are watching from afar. With Barcelona waiting in the distance and expectations as heavy as ever, he must find answers quickly.
The names missing from this squad are striking. The response of those who remain could prove even more important.
