As the La Liga season enters its final stretch with Real Madrid, Kylian Mbappe could miss out on a major individual award. The past few weeks have been turbulent for Real Madrid, with disappointing results on the field and controversy surrounding the club off it. Kylian Mbappe has not been immune to that situation, and now he could lose one of La Liga’s most prestigious individual honors. With two matches remaining in the 2025-26 Spanish league season, Mbappe currently leads the La Liga scoring race. He has scored 24 goals in 36 matchdays, although he has appeared in only 29 of those games. His seven absences were caused by physical issues, first involving his knee and more recently muscular problems. In that context, the French forward’s lead in the scoring standings is being threatened by an unexpected challenger. Vedat Muriqi has enjoyed an outstanding campaign with Mallorca, scoring 22 goals this season. He also holds the advantage of having played in 35 of the club’s 36 matches, missing only one game through suspension. Muriqi’s goals have been crucial in keeping Mallorca alive in La Liga. The club currently occupies one of the relegation spots, sitting 18th in the standings. However, they are level on points with Levante and Elche, and only one point behind Alaves and Girona, meaning their survival hopes remain very much alive. Vedat Muriqi of RCD Mallorca. That motivation could prove decisive for Vedat Muriqi in the final matches of the season, knowing his goals may help the team avoid relegation. Mbappe’s situation appears less encouraging, as he continues to deal with physical issues amid tensions with Alvaro Arbeloa while seemingly focusing more on the 2026 FIFA World Cup with France than on Real Madrid’s final two league games. What’s next for Mbappe and Muriqi in La Liga? The race for La Liga’s Pichichi Trophy appears to be down to Kylian Mbappe (24 goals) and Vedat Muriqi (22), with only two goals separating them. Far behind are Osasuna’s Ante Budimir (17) and Barcelona’s Ferran Torres and Lamine Yamal (16). Each forward’s remaining two matches could prove decisive. Real Madrid will first travel to face Sevilla on Sunday before closing the campaign against Athletic Club in Matchday 38. Muriqi, meanwhile, will battle for survival with Mallorca against Levante and Real Oviedo. Mbappe used to finishing as league top scorer The season after joining Paris Saint-Germain, Kylian Mbappe won the Ligue 1 Golden Boot for the first time at just 20 years old. From that point on, he claimed the award in every season he played in France. In fact, the striker finished as Ligue 1’s top scorer for six consecutive years, outperforming even teammates Neymar and Lionel Messi. After joining Real Madrid in 2024, that scoring dominance carried over to Spain, where he finished as La Liga’s top scorer in his debut season. Now, he is trying to retain that honor for a second straight year.
After the disagreement between Alvaro Arbeloa and Kylian Mbappé, an old tweet from the Real Madrid manager about the player resurfaced. Fans do not have much time to read good news about their club as Real Madrid goes from one scandal to another. Kylian Mbappé was the one who unexpectedly started this latest issue with Álvaro Arbeloa over his benching. However, an old tweet from the manager has resurfaced. Arbeloa wrote: “Mbappé is like young Luke Skywalker. You know that sooner or later he’ll dominate the world. He’s a beast!” Fans dug it up because it was posted on June 20, 2018, when the Frenchman was dazzling as a teenager at the World Cup his country won with him as the main attacking player. It was a curious reminder of what Arbeloa thinks of Mbappé as a player. However, it is very possible that the manager is now tired of the player’s antics, especially after the two gave different versions of the conversation they had before the match against Real Oviedo. Mbappé es como el joven Luke Skywalker. Sabes que tarde o temprano dominará el mundo.¡Es una bestia!— Álvaro Arbeloa (@aarbeloa17) June 30, 2018 Arbeloa-Mbappé incident This was not a dispute like the one last week between Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni, which left the Uruguayan out for 10 to 14 days. It was a difference in what they told the media after the win. The player said Arbeloa left him out of the lineup because he was the fourth forward behind Franco Mastantuono, Vinicius and Gonzalo García, which was a question for the manager. When Arbeloa was asked about what Mbappé had said minutes earlier, he reacted with surprise and said he did not say that phrase to Mbappé, turning it into another scandal. The final matches Real Madrid must finish the season in a more respectable way after failing to win a title despite the club’s history. While they will not move from second place behind Barcelona, they need to get wins to calm their fans a bit. Their final matches are against Sevilla away and Athletic Club at home.
Real Madrid will be hosting Real Oviedo for La Liga, but Kylian Mbappe's absence in the starting XI raised eyebrows among fans. Real Madrid return to the Santiago Bernabeu this Thursday, May 14, to host Real Oviedo for Matchday 36 of the 2025-26 La Liga season. While several of Los Blancos’ heavy hitters made the cut, the glaring omission of Kylian Mbappe from the starting XI has sent shockwaves through the Madridista fanbase. Mbappe will begin today’s match on the bench due to a tactical decision by manager Alvaro Arbeloa. While the Frenchman has officially recovered from the last-minute injury that kept him out of El Clasico against Barcelona, Arbeloa has opted to ease the superstar back into action rather than handed him a starting role. After battling back from a torn muscle fiber, Mbappe reportedly felt minor discomfort in the final training session before the duel with Barcelona, according to Marca. He has since resumed full training with the squad at Valdebebas and is said to be eager to see the field as the season reaches its final days. Per reports out of Spain, Mbappe is determined to play a part in Real Madrid’s final three fixtures against Oviedo, Sevilla, and Athletic Club. With the 2026 World Cup just weeks away, the forward is focused on regaining his match fitness and sharpness before joining the French national team in June. 📋✅ ¡Nuestro XI inicial!🆚 @RealOviedo👉 @UnicajaBanco pic.twitter.com/1KNmE4GlJL— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) May 14, 2026 The move to include him in the squad comes as a surprise following reports from The Athletic suggesting Mbappe wanted to skip the remaining home games to avoid the hostile atmosphere and jeers from the Bernabeu crowd. However, it appears his priority has shifted toward being physically ready for France’s World Cup defense. Real Madrid deal with two more significant absences Arbeloa is still fielding a competitive side, with regulars like Thibaut Courtois, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Aurelien Tchouameni, and Vinicius Junior all named to the starting lineup. However, with Real Madrid mathematically out of the La Liga title race, the manager is taking some notable risks with his team selection. The most shocking exclusion alongside Mbappe is Jude Bellingham, who will also start the match on the bench. Furthermore, Federico Valverde, a pillar of the squad this season and frequent captain, is missing from the squad list entirely following the training ground clash with Tchouameni.
A stoppage-time eruption and a crying Manolo González means the Catalan club’s long-awaited victory changes everythingAfter 143 days and many more sleepless nights Manolo González was liberated, if only for a little while. In the 92nd minute of the 19th game of 2026, something amazing happened: Espanyol won and Espanyol went wild. A goal up against Athletic Club, a late Gorka Guruzeta header had shaken them more than the post it hit, a familiar fatalism refusing to leave, and they were desperately hanging on to what they had now and had lost too many times before, whistling for this suffering to finally end, when at last they could let go. “You have to be strong in life but, bloody hell, we all have limits,” González said, and they had reached theirs but now, on a Wednesday evening in May, they were released.Ramon Terrats, a boyhood Espanyol, nodded the ball on. Kike García, the only member of the squad born in the 80s and a man with a bit of the 80s about him, a 36-year-old, 6ft 1in, 12-stone striker they call the “labourer of goals”, a sub who had only been out there six minutes, ran on to it. Keeping his head, he guided a shot past Unai Simón so everyone else could lose theirs. The clock said 91.06. The scoreboard said 2-0. The table said: 14th, 42 points, 11 wins. And 29,943 people said: argrhjrfujhkngsafkjhfskljdzrogjdgixjkgjhlkbxcfh. As for González, he broke down and cried. Continue reading...
Alvaro Arbeloa agreed with Real Madrid president as Florentino Perez claimed the club was robbed of seven La Liga titles. Florentino Pérez’s surprise press conference on Tuesday sparked another reaction on Wednesday, when Álvaro Arbeloa gave his own. The coach agreed with the club president when asked about the claim that Real Madrid were robbed of seven La Liga titles. Arbeloa said: “Of course. We all know what has happened over the last 20 years. Surely there are things we don’t know. It’s neither legal nor does it make sense to those of us involved in this competition. It’s unbelievable that only Real Madrid wants to uphold the law in football. It’s a feeling shared by all Madrid fans.” This is a natural response from someone employed by the club, but his future is uncertain. While the club may already be looking at replacements, Real Madrid must try to improve its image with the fans. Pérez’s claim In an explosive press conference from the club president, many topics were discussed. Pérez announced that he is calling an election even if he still has time left after being elected, but he does not intend to leave his position for now. Perez made huge claims about referees (Angel Martinez/Getty Images) The main point for him was what he sees as the referees’ repeated decisions against Real Madrid, mistakes that he believes cost the club seven titles in a very controversial period. Pérez said: “I have been here for I don’t know how many seasons and I just won seven European Cups and seven La Liga titles that could be 14 because they were stolen from me. We made a video of the 18 points they took from us in this one.” Real Madrid’s future Real Madrid still have three matches left to finish a poor La Liga season that has them behind champions Barcelona. While those games will not change their position, they still need to improve in a very tense situation. Their remaining opponents are Real Oviedo, Sevilla and Athletic Club.
Rayo Vallecano manager Inigo Perez said that he could see parallels between the Athletic Club side he was part of under Marcelo Bielsa that reached the Europa League and Copa del Rey finals in the sam...
