Real Madrid hosted Athletic Club in the final match of the LaLiga 2025-26 season at the Santiago Bernabéu, a game that doubled as a farewell night and a last act for Álvaro Arbeloa as coach. Arbeloa confirmed he will not be Real Madrid coach next season, saying: "Ojalá sea un hasta luego (…) Llevo cuatro meses pensando en el Real Madrid y a partir del lunes tendré que empezar a pensar en mí."
The numbers underline why the evening carried weight: Real Madrid finished the campaign second with 83 points from 37 matches, 11 points adrift of champions Barcelona and 14 points clear of Villarreal and Atlético de Madrid. Athletic Club went into the final round in 12th place with 45 points, their hopes of European qualification effectively gone before the last game.
The Bernabéu night was also framed as a series of farewells. Dani Carvajal was set to be honoured in what was described as his final match for the club, while David Alaba was said to be playing his last minutes as a Real Madrid player. Squad turnover was on view in other reports: Dani Ceballos was described as likely to leave in the summer window, Antonio Rüdiger was said to reach the end of his contract on 30 June though there were suggestions he might continue for one more year, and the lineups published in one account showed Thibaut Courtois, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Antonio Rüdiger, David Alaba, Fran García, Aurélien Tchouaméni, Eduardo Camavinga, Jude Bellingham, Brahim Díaz, Vinícius Junior and Kylian Mbappé for Real Madrid.
Form and history gave the match texture. Real Madrid had won 15 of their last 18 home matches, drawing one and losing two, and they had not lost at home to Athletic Club in the last 20 Bernabéu meetings, winning 17 and drawing three. The clubs’ recent head-to-head record favoured Madrid as well: they had won 10, drawn one and lost one in their last 12 LaLiga meetings. Athletic arrived with patchy form — three wins and seven losses in their last 11 matches and five defeats in six away games.
The night also recalled the teams’ earlier meeting at San Mamés, when Real Madrid won 0-3 with two goals from Kylian Mbappé and one from Eduardo Camavinga, a result that underlined the gulf in attacking firepower between the sides across the season.
Tension around the fixture came less from the football on the pitch that night and more from what it signalled off it. Arbeloa had taken charge in January and won 17 of the 27 matches he managed, yet club sources said he would not continue. José Mourinho is expected to be announced as Real Madrid's next coach, a move that would end Arbeloa’s interim era. Reports of player availability were inconsistent: different accounts listed Real Madrid as without Vinícius Júnior, Aurélien Tchouaméni, Rodrygo, Arda Güler, Éder Militão and Ferland Mendy, while Athletic Club were reported in one source to be without Nico Williams, Oihan Sancet and Yuri Berchiche. Even the match timing showed discrepancies, with one source dating the game to Saturday 23 May and another describing it as taking place at 2:00 AM on 24 May.
The context is simple and immediate: the season closed with Real Madrid for a second straight year without the league title, and the club used the Bernabéu fixture to mark goodbyes and to set up a managerial change. Arbeloa leaves having improved Madrid’s results in a short spell and after elimination in the Champions League quarterfinals by Bayern Munich, but the club appears ready to move in a different direction.
The clear conclusion is that Mourinho’s expected appointment will mark a definitive break from the Arbeloa era and the start of a transitional summer for a squad that will see several departures and contract decisions before 30 June. Arbeloa’s last public line that night made the moment personal: "Ojalá sea un hasta luego (…) Llevo cuatro meses pensando en el Real Madrid y a partir del lunes tendré que empezar a pensar en mí."
