A worst-case scenario and utterly disgraceful: an era comes to an end at Real

Carvajal

Dani Carvajal has spent his entire career at Real Madrid, with the exception of one year. It now looks as though the club are finally parting ways with him. It would be hard to imagine a more undignified end to an era.

Real Madrid have informed club icon Dani Carvajal that his contract, which expires this summer, will not be renewed. That report comes from Mundo Deportivo.

His departure formally closes the club's most successful recent era: Carvajal is the last survivor of the Real Madrid sides that won six Champions League titles between 2014 and 2024. 

Last summer, Luka Modric (AC Milan) and Lucas Vázquez (Bayer Leverkusen) left the club. In 2024, Toni Kroos (retired) and Nacho Fernández (Al-Qadsiah) followed.

Now, after almost 450 competitive appearances, Carvajal too has no future in Madrid. The right-back spent almost his entire career with Los Blancos, spending just one season away when Bayer Leverkusen signed the highly rated defender from Real's reserve team in 2012. 

After only one season, though, Real activated its buy-back clause, and Carvajal returned to become a cornerstone of the club's most recent glory years.

Carvajal

Dani Carvajal is set to depart Real Madrid without featuring in a farewell match.

However, his departure appears set to unfold in the worst-case scenario: Carvajal wanted to stay in Madrid for another year, but the club did not grant his wish. Moreover, he will probably not even get to play a farewell match for Real.

A recent fracture of the distal phalanx of his right little toe will almost certainly sideline him for Real's final four LaLiga matches and could even rule him out of the World Cup with Spain.

There, he remains first choice when fit, but repeated muscle and knee problems have limited him to a single appearance for La Furia Roja since 4 September last year. He had already missed much of the previous campaign because of a cruciate ligament tear. Should Carvajal miss the World Cup, national team boss Luis de la Fuente could instead call on Pedro Porro (Tottenham Hotspur) or Marcos Llorente (Atlético Madrid). Llorente, in particular, is enjoying a strong season with the Rojiblancos.

Arbeloa

Total chaos has engulfed Real Madrid.

His apparent final season with Los Blancos is already unravelling into a mess. Chaos has gripped Real for months. 

The high-profile departure of Xabi Alonso, following reported rifts with the squad, was firstly followed by the signing of Álvaro Arbeloa, then by an embarrassing cup exit against Albacete, the league title lost to FC Barcelona, and elimination from the Champions League by FC Bayern. Recently, players have even come to blows in training and in the dressing room.

If this proves to be Carvajal's last campaign in the Blancos shirt, few club legends will have endured a more inglorious farewell.

Dani Carvajal: Key statistics and performance data