Real Madrid vs Mallorca: Risk of Forfeit Due to Illegal Lineup Amid Injury Crisis
Today we play at the Santiago Bernabéu at 9:30 PM Spanish time against Mallorca. Everyone says the league is lost, but interestingly, it’s still mathematically possible to win it (Barcelona would need to lose all three remaining matches, and Real Madrid would need to win all three).
What is clear is that if we don’t win today, Barcelona would automatically win the league. So, at the very least, we must win today to give the fans a small reason to celebrate. But…
Record Number of Absentees — Only 10 First-Team Players Available!
We have a very serious problem with player absences for this match. In the last few hours, Rodrygo (with his mysterious injury…), Lunin, and the latest, Brahim, have all been ruled out. Add to that Tchouaméni’s suspension.
As a result, we only have 10 first-team players available: Courtois, Valverde, Fran García, Vallejo, Modric, Ceballos, Güler, Bellingham, Mbappé, and Endrick.
This means we must be very careful with the regulations, which require at least 7 first-team players on the field at all times. Otherwise, the match would be forfeited due to an illegal lineup (which would be a ridiculous way to end Ancelotti’s era).
So today we’ll have to watch closely to see if all 10 play as starters — for example, if Vallejo is benched and only 9 first-teamers start (note that Asencio doesn’t hold a first-team registration). Substitutions will also need to be handled very carefully when bringing on academy players.
A Disaster in Sporting Planning
The club, which broke income records last season and had a record budget of over €1 billion, has done a terrible job in terms of squad planning — signing no one in the winter transfer window and only bringing in Mbappé and Endrick in the summer. No defenders or midfielders were added despite the heavy number of absences and injuries (including the departure of a key player like Toni Kroos, as well as Joselu and Nacho).
On top of that, Endrick has hardly featured under Ancelotti, making Mbappé the only ‘useful’ signing (and thankfully so). We’ve also had the ‘luck’ of discovering Asencio.
But this kind of situation should never happen at Real Madrid — fighting for the league (and the Club World Cup) while the coach signs for Brazil, players start pulling out of games (Rodrygo), the ghost of Vallejo (always called up, never plays), and a long list of surreal situations that simply shouldn’t occur at a club of Madrid’s stature. It reflects a lack of control that has existed for quite some time.
The Bernabéu Won’t Be Full Tonight
This chaos is also reflected in the stands, where for the first time in a long time, the Bernabéu won’t be full tonight. There are still many tickets available, and the prices don’t help, ranging from €75 to €225. Nor does the timing — 9:30 PM on a Wednesday.
The average attendance at the Santiago Bernabéu this season has been 73,721 spectators, with a total of 1,179,542 fans over 17 league matches — the best figures in the last ten years. However, for this Real Madrid vs Mallorca match, it’s expected to be the lowest turnout of the season, with an estimated 55,000 spectators.
Line up (Starting XI) vs Mallorca
The starting XI: Courtois, Valverde, Jacobo, Asencio, Fran García, Modric, Güler, Ceballos, Bellingham, Mbappé and Endrick.
The bench almost all from the youth team except Vallejo: Fran González, Sergio Mestre, Youssef, Gonzalo, Chema, David Jiménez, Víctor Muñoz.
🏟️ Santiago Bernabéu 🏟️ pic.twitter.com/250KEtWNar
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) May 14, 2025