Real Madrid Leaves 11 Stars Out of Deportivo Trip

Real Madrid’s preparations for the new La Liga season will continue on Wednesday night with a familiar badge on the opposition shirts, but an unfamiliar look to José Mourinho’s squad list.

The club named their travelling party for the friendly against Deportivo La Coruña on Tuesday, and the headline is stark: eleven first‑team players will not make the trip.

This is no routine rotation note buried in the small print. These are marquee absences.

With the 2026/27 campaign less than a fortnight away and the pressure already building to mount a stronger title challenge against Barcelona, Mourinho has chosen – or been forced – to leave out a string of heavyweight names, citing a mix of injuries and insufficient match fitness.

The list reads like the spine of a potential starting XI.

Jude Bellingham will not feature. Nor will Thibaut Courtois. Kylian Mbappé and Rodrygo are also out, stripping Real of a devastating attacking edge for the night. At the back, Éder Militão, Ibrahima Konaté and Ferland Mendy are missing, leaving Mourinho without three senior options in defence.

Marc Cucurella, Yan Diomandé, Raúl Asencio and Thiago Pitarch also stay behind, completing an absentee group that underlines just how carefully Real are managing minutes and muscles as the season looms.

Real have already put useful work in the legs with friendlies against Fiorentina and Ferencváros, but the meeting with Deportivo carries a different kind of intrigue. The Galician club arrive fresh from sealing their return to La Liga, eager to measure themselves against the division’s most demanding benchmark, even in July and even in a friendly.

For Mourinho, the game becomes less about fine‑tuning his strongest XI and more about stress‑testing the depth that will have to carry Real through a long, unforgiving campaign. Players on the fringes will see opportunity where supporters might see risk.

Deportivo, back in the top flight and hungry, will not complain if a rotated Real side gives them a clearer shot at a statement result, even in pre-season. Real, stripped of so many headline names, will expect the badge to carry the same weight regardless.

Absentees for the Trip to Deportivo

• Marc Cucurella
• Jude Bellingham
• Thibaut Courtois
• Rodrygo
• Kylian Mbappé
• Yan Diomandé
• Ferland Mendy
• Raúl Asencio
• Ibrahima Konaté
• Thiago Pitarch
• Éder Militão

A friendly on paper, yes. But with Barcelona looming in the distance and eleven senior players watching from home, this quiet night against a newly promoted side may tell Mourinho more about his squad than any glamour tie ever could.