Welcome to Inside Real Madrid, our new weekly series to follow throughout La Liga’s 2025-26 season.

Every week, we will bring you our latest information and analysis on the biggest talking points, cutting through the noisy world of all things Madridista with reporting you can trust.

This week, our writers Guillermo Rai and Mario Cortegana share the latest on Rodrygo’s situation at the club, a potential exit for Dani Ceballos and the fallout over Xabi Alonso’s omission of Vinicius Junior on Sunday night.

What’s the biggest talking point at Real Madrid right now?

Once again, the transfer market is taking centre stage. All eyes are on possible departures — with Rodrygo and Ceballos standing out.

There has been a lot of chatter about Ceballos going back to his former club Real Betis (Madrid signed him from there in 2017), and the 29-year-old midfielder himself liked several social media posts discussing a possible return. Last week, Betis’ stance was that they considered the deal but considered a move almost impossible for financial reasons.

Another source with knowledge of the case (who, like all those cited here, preferred to speak anonymously as they did not have permission to comment) said Ceballos wants to leave but he didn’t have high hopes of a move coming off because of the price Madrid were asking (he is under contract until 2027). However, on Sunday night, the player posted a photo of himself in that evening’s 3-0 win at Oviedo with the caption “last dance”.

Last summer, Madrid were asking for €20million (£17.3m; $23.4m) for Ceballos, who earns around €4.5m net per season. His preference is to stay in Spain, should a deal prove possible, although Marseille have also expressed an interest.

As for Rodrygo… well, he deserves a chapter of his own.

What’s happening with Rodrygo?

After not featuring at all in Madrid’s La Liga opener against Osasuna last Tuesday, speculation about Rodrygo’s future at the club intensified even further last week.

So it came as something of a surprise when Alonso named him in the starting line-up, and on the left wing, against Oviedo. The Athletic reported in June that the Brazilian 24-year-old was planning to ask Alonso to play in that position.

Rodrygo left the field in the 63rd minute, with Madrid leading 1-0. He was visibly angry about the substitution, although Alonso praised his performance and said he “had a good game”.

“I liked him,” Madrid’s coach added. “He had a few shots and it was difficult to find openings with Oviedo so low. We need everyone and Rodrygo is one more.”

Before Sunday night, Rodrygo had started just two of Alonso’s nine matches in charge. He saw himself behind Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr, Brahim Diaz, new signing Franco Mastantuono and academy product Gonzalo Garcia in the pecking order for attacking positions, with Jude Bellingham and Endrick currently out of contention due to injury.

Rodrygo instructed agents Pini Zahavi and Kia Joorabchian to explore a new destination for him this summer, despite his camp insisting he wants to stay at Madrid. Such a move clearly suggests that the possibility of an exit has at least been strongly considered, but clubs that expressed interest were left with the impression that Rodrygo was not fully convinced about leaving the Spanish capital.

With the transfer window closing next Monday, this week we should finally see whether those explorations lead to something definitive, or whether Alonso’s latest selection influences the mind of a player who told team-mates he was unhappy with his playing time earlier this summer.

What else did we learn from Sunday’s game?

A lot of things, because Alonso is making some bold moves.

His latest on Sunday was to leave Vinicius Jr on the bench, a decision that did not go down well on the player’s side. Sources from the Brazilian’s camp said he did not expect to be a substitute and Alonso did not talk to him about it before the match.

Also left on the bench was Trent Alexander-Arnold, with Dani Carvajal starting at right-back. The 33-year-old came back from an anterior cruciate ligament injury at the end of last season and sources close to him expect the player to keep his place in Alonso’s XI for a long time, despite Alexander-Arnold’s signing.

Speaking after Sunday’s game, Alonso said: “We have more than 20 players in the squad and I’m going to try to get the best out of all of them. Sometimes they can be starters and be important, or play just a few minutes and be important.

Vinicius Jr celebrating at Oviedo on Sunday (Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

“I haven’t made any decisions for the next month. I want people to feel important, ready, to be there for the next game.”

It was also interesting to hear Alonso speak about Mastantuono, who has impressed in his first two appearances for Madrid. The 18-year-old started against Oviedo and featured mostly on the right, but Alonso indicated we might also expect to see him play more centrally in future.

Finally, we should emphasise the new role of Mbappe, who scored the first two goals of the game.

Last season, different voices in the dressing room considered that he was a bit shy. Now, in his second season at the club, the Frenchman’s attitude on the pitch has changed drastically and he can now be considered one of the team’s great leaders, if not the greatest.

Also, unlike last season, when the Madrid offensive players took turns, the 26-year-old is now formally in charge of taking penalties and direct free kicks.

What else might fans have missed last week?

Yesterday, former Madrid player Nico Paz put in a great performance in Como’s 2-0 victory against Lazio, scoring from a free kick and providing an assist.

Five days before, at Madrid’s game against Osasuna, people from Paz’s camp and a couple of top executives from Como were present in the presidential box of the Santiago Bernabeu.

They were there to study the situation around the 20-year-old attacking midfielder. Madrid have an attractive buyback option for Paz, and also would be entitled to 50 per cent of any sale Como make on Paz. The Argentina international joined them from Madrid last summer for €6m.

Paz looks set to stay in northern Italy this season (despite recent interest from Tottenham Hotspur), but Como are in talks with Madrid over re-negotiating the terms of the Spanish club’s options on the player.

Meanwhile, an interesting situation was brewing last week with one of Real Madrid Castilla’s prospects. Rachad Fettal, a 20-year-old forward who recently arrived from Almeria, has been included in Spain’s provisional Under-21 squad. As a dual Moroccan-Spanish national, Fettal could play for either nation, with the Spanish Football Federation keen to bring him into the fold now.

Also worth a quick mention is the fact that former Madrid fitness coach Antonio Pintus was spotted at the Bernabeu on Tuesday wearing a suit. Why is that important, you may ask? It has been interpreted as a sign of the Italian’s waning influence at the club (his previous attire of a club tracksuit felt closer to the world of physical training).

And finally, after The Athletic reported on August 2 that the club had revamped its medical services, one of Madrid’s new doctors, Manuel Arroyo, announced his arrival on Instagram on Sunday by saying: “The adventure begins.”

(Top photo: Denis Doyle/Getty Images)