Are Real Madrid set for La Liga dominance? Bellingham, Mbappé and Barclona factors

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36th title won 

There were subdued celebrations as Real Madrid clinched their 36th LaLiga title on Saturday night. Barcelona’s 4-2 defeat to Girona after Madrid’s 3-0 win over Cadiz earlier in the day ensured Carlo Ancelotti’s men were crowned champions. Madrid will celebrate with their supporters next Sunday at the famous Cibeles fountain in the Spanish capital with the focus firmly on the second leg of the Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich on Wednesday night.

Reaching Wembley in a bid to lift the Champions League for the 15th time is the ultimate motivation for Madrid but their achievement in winning LaLiga can’t be overlooked. It’s easily forgotten that there were question marks over Ancelotti’s future at the start of the season with the legendary Italian perennially linked with the Brazil job after a season where Barcelona strolled to the title and Manchester City expressed their dominance in the Champions League. But Ancelotti’s experience and amiability has been central to Madrid being crowned the kings of Spain, once again. 

The key components to Real Madrid’s title winning success

Madrid have been the dominant team in Spain. They boast the best attack and defence in LaLiga and they are currently on a 28-game unbeaten run. Their only defeat of the league season came against city rivals Atlético Madrid in September and Real could match an impressive record if they avoid defeat in their remaining four games. Since LaLiga moved to a 20-team format in 1987, only three clubs have only lost one game across the season – Real Madrid (1988-89) and Barcelona (2009-10 and 2017-18).

Madrid have scored the most goals in LaLiga (74) and conceded the fewest (22). As the graphic above illustrates, Madrid have conceded the second fewest goals across the top five leagues and their record is more remarkable given their injury issues in defence. First-choice Thibaut Courtois made his first appearance of the season on Saturday after two serious injuries while starting centre-backs David Alaba and Éder Militão have barely featured due to injury. Antonio Rüdiger has been outstanding, while club captain Nacho has stepped up impressively. Toni Kroos has shown that class is permanent in midfield while Jude Bellingham has been a revelation. Journeyman Joselu’s arrival as Karim Benzema’s replacement raised eyebrows but Bellingham stepped up with 18 league goals and he’s dovetailed superbly with Brazilian duo Rodrygo and Vinicus Jr. There is a common misconception that Ancelotti isn’t an elite tactician but the legendary Italian emphasises trust in his players to navigate different game states and Madrid possess tactical flexibility to overcome challenges. 

“The key to the title has been consistency,” Iván Fuente, Transfermarkt’s La Liga expert, said. “Real Madrid have only lost one game in LaLiga (vs Atlético). Ancelotti has built a very secure team in defence (they have only conceded one goal in five LaLiga games) despite the fact that Courtois and Militao have played just a few minutes. They are the team with the fewest goals conceded in LaLiga. They are also a team that counter-attack very well, with fast players like Rodrygo or Vinicius. Plus, Bellingham has broken out as a goalscorer.”

Will Real Madrid enjoy a period of dominance in La Liga?

The signs are ominous for Madrid’s rivals in their ambitions to reassert themselves as the best club in Spain, especially Barcelona. Madrid have assembled an impressively balanced squad of experienced players – Kroos, Alaba, Courtois – and exceptionally gifted talents with their best years ahead of them in Bellingham, Vinicius Jr, Aurélien Tchouaméni, Eduardo Camavinga and Arda Güler. Brazilian sensation Endrick will join Madrid in the summer, while Kylian Mbappé is expected to join from PSG on a free transfer.

It’s a breathtaking collection of players and Madrid’s recruitment strategy over recent years deserves immense credit. Los Blancos are historically renowned for their Galactico approach, when they splashed out fortunes on big-money players but they’ve moved away from the approach. As the graphic above shows, Madrid only has the 19th highest net spend (€174m) across the last five seasons which is lower than 11 English clubs. Remarkably, Nottingham Forest (€234m) and Leeds United (€202m) have a higher net spend than Madrid, despite spending time in the second tier of English football since 2019. Real have recognised when players’ careers are on the decline and they’ve been able to sell them for big fees, with Manchester United particularly guilty of signing ageing stars in Raphaël Varane (€40m) and Casemiro (€70.65m). 

The failed transfers of Eden Hazard (€115m) and Luka Jović (€63m) during the 2019/20 season proved expensive mistakes and Madrid quickly learned their lessons. Across the next two seasons, they only spent €31m on Camavinga and they didn’t spend a penny on new arrivals during the 2020/21 campaign. The Covid pandemic hit the two biggest clubs in Spain hard but Madrid have emerged in a much healthier financial position than their arch rivals. Madrid’s finances and ability to spend will be significantly bolstered by the completion of renovation work on the Santiago Bernabeu, which they will soon benefit from. 

Conversely, Barcelona’s financial predicament is well-documented after years of forumulating innovative ways to delay their monetary issues. The Catalonia giants could be forced into selling some of their prized assets this summer and they will rely heavily on the emergence of prodigious gifted youngsters in Lamine Yamal, Gavi, Pedri and Pau Cubarsí amongst others. Madrid currently have six players aged 25 or under that are valued at over €100m onTransfermarkt and their overall squad value has soared ahead of Barcelona across the last five years. There’s a strong sense of camaraderie amongst the current Madrid squad, enabled by Ancelotti’s serene approach, which is in stark contrast to Barclona. Atletico Madrid possess an ageing squad and that contributes to the feeling that Real could embark on a period of dominance like PSG in France, Manchester City in England and that which Bayern Munich enjoyed until Bayer Leverkusen’s stunning performance in the Bundesliga this season. 

“The club itself believes they are set for a period of dominance,” Fuente added. Their top players are aged under 25, while the arrival of Kylian Mbappé and potentially Alphonso Davies would give them a boost that no one in Spain could match. Even Barcelona cannot match them. It looks like they will have to sell some of their top players and the youngsters have to prove they can stand up to a rival like Real Madrid.”