In a stunning reflection of Real Madrid's current turmoil, Spain coach Luis de la Fuente has named a 2025 World Cup squad that contains no players from the 15-time European champions. The announcement on Monday marks the first time in World Cup history that the Spanish national team will travel to the tournament without a single Real Madrid representative, delivering another symbolic blow to president Florentino Pérez's totemic institution.
Although Spain had already gone without a Madridista at Euro 2020, this World Cup omission stings deeper given the club's historical role as a supplier of spine to La Roja. De la Fuente, however, was unapologetic. "I don't look at the club a player comes from, only at whether he has the ability to play with us," he told reporters. "I don't pay attention to whether they are from one team or another; I don't have that localist and partisan mentality a fan might have."
Statistically, the coach's position is hard to fault. This season, just three of the 16 most utilised players at Real Madrid held Spanish passports: Álvaro Carreras, Dean Huijsen and Raúl Asencio. Tellingly, in the Champions League quarter-final second leg against Bayern Munich (a 3-4 defeat on 15 April), manager Álvaro Arbeloa fielded a starting eleven composed entirely of foreigners. That match may yet come to be seen as the symbolic low point of an annus horribilis for the Madrid camp.
Only centre-back Dean Huijsen had appeared to be in genuine contention for the national team in recent weeks, but even he was ultimately overlooked in a defensive unit that instead includes the uncapped Marc Pubill. Youngsters such as Thiago Pitarch (18) found themselves crowded out by Barcelona's emerging midfield talents, while forward Gonzalo García (22) has been placed in the standby group that will train with the squad until 4 June but not travel to the tournament.
De la Fuente's choices have added insult to injury by including several players carrying significant fitness concerns. Midfielder Gavi, for instance, has played just one minute of international football in two-and-a-half years due to a series of injuries, yet he earns a call-up. Likewise, Arsenal’s Mikel Merino only returned to action on Sunday against Crystal Palace after four months out, and both Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams failed to complete the club season because of injuries. The coach even admitted that Yamal might miss Spain’s opening group matches against Cape Verde on 11 June and Saudi Arabia ten days later.
The decision to take a chance on these recovering players, while ignoring Real Madrid’s available Spanish contingent, has been interpreted in the Spanish capital as a pointed rejection. It reinforces the perception of a club adrift from its national identity, a far cry from the eras when Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Raúl and Xabi Alonso formed the backbone of both club and country. The international break now highlights the diminishing role of homegrown talent in a squad built around a galaxy of foreign stars.
For Florentino Pérez, this selection is a fresh humiliation in a season already filled with disappointment. Without a hint of Chamartín essence in the national set-up, questions will intensify about the club's youth development pathway and recruitment strategy. When even injury-affected players from other teams are considered a safer bet than Madrid's Spaniards, the message from the federation could hardly be clearer.
Yet the crisis runs deeper than personnel. Arbeloa’s all-foreign line-up against Bayern points to a tactical and philosophical shift that has left little room for the Spanish core that once defined the club. Barcelona, by contrast, continue to feed Spanish talent through La Masia, ensuring their presence remains woven into the national team's fabric. This divergence undercuts Real Madrid's claim to being Spain's premier club, at least in terms of contribution to La Roja.
Ultimately, De la Fuente's squad list is more than a team sheet—it is a verdict on Real Madrid's season and a warning for the future. Unless the club rediscovers its commitment to developing and trusting Spanish players, the gap between its global brand and its domestic relevance risks becoming permanent. Based on reporting from L'Equipe.
