To say that it hasn’t quite been the season of Real Madrid’s dreams would be an understatement. Though Los Blancos are second in La Liga and still have a reasonable shot at pipping bitter rivals Barcelona to the title, the Xabi Alonso hire was enough of a failure that they fired him after just 233 days in charge. They lost the Supercopa final to the Blaugrana, got knocked out of the Copa del Rey by second-tier side Albacete, and barely squeezed by Benfica in the Champions League Knockout Playoffs. Madrid will next face Manchester City in the Round of 16.
The situation went from bad to worse on Monday, when Los Blancos suffered a 1-0 defeat in La Liga to mid-table side Getafe. In the second half, right midfielder Rodrygo went down hard after his knee buckled near the left sideline. Though he ultimately finished the game, testing revealed that he had sustained a torn ACL and meniscus, ruling him out for the remainder of 2026.
Despite Rodrygo’s muted production so far in 2025/26 (just one goal in 19 league appearances, including six starts), he was a critical part of title-winning teams in 2021/22 and 2023/24, and his injury hurts the attacking depth of a Madrid team that, as is, has already scored 17 fewer goals than Barcelona. Kylian Mbappé has been dealing with knee issues, and Jude Bellingham is out for at least another month, so finding a healthy and productive option in the short term is paramount in the title fight.
Rodrygo’s injury is arguably a bigger loss for a Brazil team that dreams of winning the World Cup this coming summer. The 25-year-old was a critical piece of the Seleção’s squad, finishing second in goals during its COMNEBOL qualifying campaign, and he frequently started alongside his Real Madrid teammate Vinicius Júnior and Barcelona’s Raphinha, with Vinicius and Chelsea’s João Pedro up front. Chelsea star Estêvão Willian’s breakout could help mitigate the impact of Rodrygo’s injury, but Estêvão is just 18 years old and relatively untested in international competition.
Making matters worse is Brazil’s difficult group, which features Morocco — at No. 8, it’s ranked just three spots behind the Seleção in the FIFA World Rankings — Haiti, and Scotland. Playing in a group with defensive-oriented teams could prove a massive challenge for a Brazil team without a true No. 9.
The Seleçao currently have +750 odds at DraftKings Sportsbook to win their sixth World Cup this coming summer, behind only Spain (+450) and England (+550). Real Madrid is +180 to claim La Liga.
