‘Rock Bottom’—Dani Carvajal Rips Real Madrid After Historic Copa del Rey Exit

Álvaro Arbeloa’s first match on the Real Madrid touchline ended in despair.

Dani Carvajal made his long-awaited return from injury in the Copa del Rey round of 16. | Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto/Getty Images

Real Madrid captain Dani Carvajal admitted the team hit “rock bottom” following their humiliating 3–2 defeat to second-tier side Albacete on Wednesday evening.

The Spanish giants made the trip to Santander to kick off the Álvaro Arbeloa era in the Copa del Rey round of 16. Despite the recent turnover in the dugout and the absence of Kylian Mbappé, Jude Bellingham and several other stars, Los Blancos were the heavy favorites to come out on top of the lopsided affair.

Except Albacete put three goals past Real Madrid, including the match-winner in the 94th minute, to punch their tickets to the quarterfinals. The humiliating defeat came in the same week as the club’s Spanish Super Cup failure against Barcelona, prompting Xabi Alonso’s sudden exit.

17th-placed second-tier side Albacete Balompié knock Real Madrid out of the Copa del Rey in Álvaro Arbeloa’s first game. pic.twitter.com/QPYKyCsHLc

— Sports Illustrated FC (@SI_FootballClub) January 14, 2026

“We’ve hit rock bottom spectacularly,” Carvajal said after Wednesday’s Copa del Rey shock. “We have to face the music even when we lose, and that’s what we have to do now. We, the players, are ultimately responsible.

“We’ve been knocked out by a Segunda División team and congratulations to them. From tomorrow, we have to be self-critical individually and collectively.”

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Carvajal Delivers Real Madrid Rallying Cry

Dani Carvajal is hoping Real Madrid can turn their season around. | Alberto Gardin/NurPhoto/Getty Images

Although it was the most embarrassing, Real Madrid’s defeat to Albacete is just another failure added to the team’s résumé over the last season-and-a-half. The 15-time European champions went from winning La Liga, the Champions League and the Spanish Super Cup in 2023–24 to losing its last three finals to Barcelona.

Los Blancos also find themselves trailing the Catalans by four points in the table, while defeats to Liverpool and Manchester City put them seventh in the Champions League standings.

Still, Real Madrid are alive in both competitions, a fact Carvajal was quick to remind both the dressing room and the fans.

Real Madrid are now on a run of just one Copa win in 12 seasons.

Barcelona have lifted the trophy six times in the same span, and are still in the hunt to make it seven. pic.twitter.com/QQAs77n4gy

— Sports Illustrated FC (@SI_FootballClub) January 15, 2026

“We still have time to turn the season around. We have two fantastic competitions to fight for. The team isn’t at its best right now and we have to work hard,” the Spaniard said.

“We all have to give a lot more and that is the reality. That’s the message: we have to go all out. We also apologize to the fans and we are not, myself first, at the level and expectations of this club. We promise to give our all in the games over the next few months so that the situation can be reversed.”

Next up for Los Blancos is a La Liga bout with 19th-place Levante on Saturday, Jan. 17. Arbeloa will hope to quickly erase the club’s midweek humilation with a strong result at the Bernabéu.

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