Real Madrid make surprise decisions with Champions League squad

Real Madrid make surprise decisions with Champions League squad Real Madrid have already played three games in the 2026-27 season, and are set to shortly return to their favorite competition, the UEFA Champions League. The Merengues will begin their UCL campaign with a match against Inter Milan, which is scheduled for this coming Tuesday . Meanwhile, as MARCA has noted, Los Blancos have also submitted their squad to UEFA for this competition. This list features a surprise inclusion, the newly signed midfielder Sergio Martinez, and a surprise exclusion, the fullback Ferland Mendy. The presence of the young midfielder in this 25-player list could have been intended to be a solution to the problems in midfield Real Madrid are expected to face in their opening game of the UCL campaign. Jose Mourinho will be without Eduardo Camavinga, Arda Guler, and Bernardo Silva for this game, as all of them are suspended. On the other hand, Aurelien Tchouameni has still not been able to play for the Merengues this season and is a doubt for the game against Inter, as is Thiago Pitarch, who suffered a muscle injury during the preseason. Thus, Martinez, who, despite being primarily a reserve team player for now, has already trained with and impressed Mourinho. He can get the opportunity to make his debut with his new team only in a couple of days, and that too in a competition like the Champions League. On the other hand, Mendy has been left out of the squad mainly because of his physical problems. He has been training on the pitch for some weeks now, but keeping in view his injury history, Real Madrid are not looking to take any risks with him, and he is expected to return to the pitch in September or October. However, having Marc Cucurella and Alvaro Carreras means Jose Mourinho already has the left-back position well covered, and would not miss Ferland Mendy too much.