Real Madrid Pre-Season Finale: Key Player Updates and Academy Exodus

Real Madrid’s pre-season ends in Germany on Sunday, but the story around the club stretches far beyond 90 minutes in Gelsenkirchen.

Mourinho’s last dress rehearsal

Real Madrid travel to face Schalke 04 on August 16 in their final friendly of the summer, one last tune-up before La Liga begins with a trip to Espanyol on August 22. For Jose Mourinho, it’s the final chance to test ideas, integrate signings and gauge fitness before the real scrutiny starts in Barcelona.

On the plane to Germany will be three faces still waiting for their first Real Madrid minutes: Yan Diomande, Marc Cucurella and Ibrahima Konate. All three are available, all three are under the microscope. This is their audition.

Kylian Mbappe, back in training this week after his post-World Cup break, could also feature for the first time under the Portuguese coach. If Mourinho gives the green light, the Mbappe era in white will begin not at the Bernabeu, but in Gelsenkirchen.

Bellingham and Tchouameni in limbo

The biggest doubts, though, sit in midfield.

Jude Bellingham returned to training on Wednesday. Mourinho now has a decision to make: risk him in Germany or wrap him in cotton wool for Espanyol. The plan for the season is clear – Bellingham will be restored to his favoured role as an attacking midfielder, operating just behind the centre-forward, the zone where he can dictate tempo and arrive in the box.

Aurelien Tchouameni’s situation mirrors his teammate’s. The Frenchman is coming back from a minor muscular issue. The expectation inside the club is that he will be ready for the league opener, but his involvement against Schalke is still up in the air.

Tchouameni’s battle is not just with his body, but with the depth chart. He will have to fight for a place in the double pivot against Federico Valverde, Bernardo Silva and Eduardo Camavinga. It is a fierce contest in the heart of the pitch, and every minute counts. He may not get those minutes in Germany.

Six ruled out, Endrick added to the list

If Bellingham and Tchouameni are “maybe,” several others are a firm “no.”

Raul Asencio, Ferland Mendy, Rodrygo, Thiago Pitarch and Eder Militao will all stay in Madrid as they continue their injury recoveries. None will travel, their focus fixed on rehabilitation rather than rhythm.

Endrick joins them. The Brazilian has suffered a muscle overload and is expected to miss the Schalke game as well. Mourinho will be hoping that Endrick, Bellingham and Tchouameni are all ready when the team walks out in Barcelona next week. The Espanyol fixture already feels like a checkpoint for their fitness and for Madrid’s early-season ambitions.

A historic academy cash-out

While the first team prepares for Schalke, another story is unfolding quietly but relentlessly at Valdebebas. Real Madrid’s academy is being stripped back, player by player, in what has become a remarkable – and lucrative – exodus.

The latest name on the departure board is Jacobo Ortega, who is set for a move to Strasbourg. His transfer would make him the most expensive sale of a Real Madrid youth player who has never featured for the first team. A record fee for a player who has not yet stepped onto the Bernabeu pitch in a competitive game says everything about the market’s view of La Fabrica.

And Ortega will not be the final chapter.

Manuel Angel and David Jimenez next out

According to AS, Manuel Angel and David Jimenez are expected to follow. Both have effectively reached the end of their cycle with Castilla and are waiting for the right move.

Interest in the pair is broad – from top-flight clubs to the second division and beyond – but nothing has yet been finalised. The club has taken no chances: both players have been training separately and kept out of Castilla’s pre-season friendlies and matchday squads to avoid any injury that might derail their transfers.

Once Ortega’s sale and other outgoing deals are fully accounted for, Real Madrid’s academy income this summer is set to soar past €200 million. Internally, the window is already being described as historic. The numbers back that up.

Two talents shaped in a winning generation

Manuel Angel and David Jimenez are not fringe prospects. They were central figures in Alvaro Arbeloa’s treble-winning academy generation, a group that also featured Nico Paz and Gonzalo Garcia.

Manuel Angel, 22, has been at La Fabrica since 2014 and is widely viewed as one of Valdebebas’ most refined midfielders. Ambidextrous, calm, and intelligent in possession, he even broke into the first team last season, making seven appearances. Now, the priority is simple: find a club that can offer him the regular minutes that Madrid cannot currently guarantee.

On the right flank of defence, David Jimenez has built a reputation as one of the most attacking full-backs in the academy. His right foot is considered among the best in the system. Coaches praise his leadership and his willingness to drive forward, traits that have drawn comparisons to Dani Carvajal. Like Manuel Angel, he tasted first-team action last season, impressing under both Xabi Alonso and Arbeloa.

For both players, the next step is decisive. Real Madrid, their agents and the players themselves are waiting for the right proposal, the one that balances financial logic for the club with a genuine sporting project.

As Mourinho fine-tunes his squad in Germany and the academy coffers swell past €200 million, one question hangs over Valdebebas: how many of these departing talents will Madrid one day try to buy back?