Mbappé finished as La Liga’s top scorer in 2025-26 with 25 goals, taking a second Pichichi in a row, before adding a second consecutive World Cup Golden Boot with 10 goals in North America. Lamine Yamal, eight years his junior, played the tournament through a hamstring problem and left with the trophy itself, as Spain beat Argentina 1-0 in the final on 19 July.
They meet twice this season. Between the two dates sits a Portuguese returnee, a defence of the title, and a Real Madrid side that has gone two seasons without lifting anything.
Mourinho signs until 2029
Real Madrid completed Mourinho’s return on 18 August, when the Portuguese was officially unveiled at the Ciudad Real Madrid boardroom alongside president Florentino Pérez. He has signed until 30 June 2029.
“This is coming home. Emotionally, it’s even better than the first time because back then it was a feeling of reaching the very top of the world, whereas now it’s more emotional and heartfelt,” Mourinho said at the presentation.
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“I’m here to help everyone be better, players, staff … to create a culture of hard work, responsibility, ambition and something I know well, which is the responsibility and honour of working for Real Madrid.”
His second spell arrives after the club’s most chaotic recent season. Xabi Alonso was appointed and sacked by mid-January after player-manager friction, interim coach Álvaro Arbeloa took the team out of every competition by April, and Barcelona clinched La Liga with a Clásico win at the Bernabéu, the first time the league has been mathematically settled inside a Clásico.
Mbappé backs the new manager
Mbappé returned to training convinced Mourinho is the missing piece. Speaking to reporters on 15 August, the France captain said he had been in touch with the new coach for weeks.
“I think it’s very positive to have a coach like Mourinho, who knows how to win, who knows how to give directions for us to do that,” Mbappé told beIN Sports.
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“We spoke a lot during the World Cup, and [the staff] have spoken to me since then, even if I have only been here for a few days.”
“I’m sure that we’re going to win titles again, that’s what we want and it’s going to happen.”
His 25 league goals in 2025-26 put him alongside Alfredo Di Stéfano, Ferenc Puskás, Amancio, Hugo Sánchez and Cristiano Ronaldo as the only Real Madrid players to have claimed the Pichichi in successive seasons.
Yamal’s Barcelona, minus Lewandowski
Barcelona chase a third straight title, something no Spanish club has managed since Pep Guardiola’s 2008-11 side. Robert Lewandowski has left for Chicago Fire, Ferran Torres for Paris Saint-Germain, Ronald Araújo for Liverpool. In have come wingers Karim Adeyemi from Dortmund and Anthony Gordon from Newcastle, where he scored 17 last season.
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Hansi Flick opens the campaign without Frenkie de Jong until November, and without Roony Bardghji, whose knee will keep him out for the season. Fermín López, Raphinha and Gavi are all fit. Pau Cubarsí, 19, inherits the senior defensive brief alongside Andreas Christensen after Araújo’s exit.
Yamal himself is coming off a modest World Cup return of one goal in seven starts, the hamstring biting into his output all summer. Last season he still produced 16 goals and 11 assists in 28 league appearances, having missed 10 games.
Opening weekend, then Camp Nou on 25 October
La Liga’s opening weekend began on 15 August without either giant, both delayed by their players’ World Cup workloads. Mourinho’s Real Madrid start away at Espanyol on Saturday 22 August, with the rescheduled home fixture against Real Sociedad on Wednesday 26 August. Barcelona open at Elche on Sunday 23 August, with Athletic Club to follow four days later.
The first Clásico is set for Camp Nou on Sunday 25 October, the return at the Bernabéu on Sunday 9 May.
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