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Xabi Alonso Drops Kylian Mbappe Bombshell Ahead of Spanish Super Cup Final
Real Madrid boss Xabi Alonso confirmed Kylian Mbappé is on his way to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to join up with the team ahead of the Spanish Super Cup final against Barcelona.
The 15-time European champions have been without their leading goalscorer since the start of the new year. Mbappé was diagnosed with a sprain in his left knee on the final day of 2025, joining Éder Militão in the infirmary.
The France international missed out on Real Madrid’s return to domestic action, a 5–1 thrashing of Real Betis at the Bernabéu. Mbappé also did not make Alonso’s squad for the Spanish Super Cup, but his team still prevailed in the semifinals, defeating Atlético Madrid 2–1.
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Los Blancos were expecting to still be without their superstar forward for the final against Barcelona. But Alonso revealed Mbappé is “a lot better” and “feeling good,” so much so that he left the Spanish capital to fly to Jeddah just days before the upcoming Clásico.
Alonso played coy on the Frenchman’s potential involvement in the all-important match, but he admitted Mbappé has a “chance” to play on Sunday evening at Alinma Bank Stadium.
‘Revenge’ on the Mind for Real Madrid, Barcelona
Despite Real Madrid’s fine form with Gonzalo García leading their line, the team’s best chance at defeating Barcelona comes with Mbappé on the pitch. In his last three matches against the Catalans, the former Paris Saint-Germain star has scored five goals.
No matter what XI Alonso rolls out on Sunday, though, Los Blancos will deem anything other than winning the Spanish Super Cup a failure.
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“We have to win,” goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said to Realmadrid TV after the game. “Last year we lost two finals against them and we want to win, just like them, who lost the Clásico in La Liga and will be hungry for revenge.”
Indeed, Barcelona bested their bitter rivals 5–2 in last season’s Spanish Super Cup final and 3–2 in the Copa del Rey final. Madrid got their first bit of revenge in their first Clásico under Alonso, a 2–1 victory at the Bernabéu.
“It will be a great game between two teams who will want to win. We have to recover well and have fresh legs on Sunday to win,” Courtois finished.
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Amanda Langell is a Sports Illustrated FC freelance writer and editor. Born and raised in New York City, her first loves were the Yankees, the Rangers and Broadway before Real Madrid took over her life. Had it not been for her brother’s obsession with Cristiano Ronaldo, she would have never lived through so many magical Champions League nights 3,600 miles away from the Bernabéu. When she’s not consumed by Spanish and European soccer, she’s traveling, reading or losing her voice at a concert.