Two European giants, two paths: Real Madrid and Liverpool’s diverging fortunes
Real Madrid and Liverpool are two of football’s biggest teams with the same aspirations of being domestically dominant, to shine on the Champions League stage and to be crowned the best team in Europe.
Yet despite these similarities, they had paradoxical seasons in 2024/25, wildly different summer windows in 2025 and even presently are experiencing vastly different seasons in 2025/26.
Here, Sports News Blitz’s Wanga Charma takes a closer look at how two European powerhouses have walked very different paths over the past two seasons.
2024/25 season: The backdrop
In the summer of 2024, Real Madrid had come off the back of another dominant European season.
Winning the Champions League (UCL) and adding arguably the best attacker in the world, Kylian Mbappe, they looked poised to be a nuisance in Europe.
While they got off to a great start by winning the UEFA Super Cup as well as winning the FIFA International Cup, their overall domestic and European performance was poor.
Finishing runners-up in La Liga behind Barcelona and being absolutely humiliated 5-1 by Arsenal in the Champions League Quarterfinals.
It was a disappointing season for Los Blancos, and with Carlo Ancelotti leaving, the 2025/26 season looked uncertain for Madrid. What was going to be their next move to get back to the top of the footballing world?
The same season looked completely different over in the red side of Merseyside.
After saying goodbye to one of the greatest Liverpool and Premier League managers of all time in Jurgen Klopp, Arne Slot was named as the successor.
While he had come off a stellar season with Feyenoord, with the only notable addition being Federico Chiesa from Juventus into the squad, not much was expected of the Reds in the 2024/25 season.
Despite this, Liverpool shocked the footballing world by claiming a 20th league title in Slot’s inaugural season.
They were also runners-up in the EFL Cup and suffered a heartbreaking UCL round of 16 loss in a penalty shootout against eventual champions Paris Saint-Germain.
With a new manager at the helm, a Premier League title to add to their collection, the Liverpool future looked bright, and it felt as if hope had been renewed amongst the fans.
READ MORE: Champions League news: Galatasaray take first-leg advantage with 1-0 win over Liverpool
2025/26 season: The present
In the summer of 2025, fans’ hope was swiftly repaid as Liverpool went on a spending spree.
Breaking the British transfer fee twice for world-class players in Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak; they also splashed the cash on Bundesliga talents like Hugo Ekitike and Jeremie Frimpong, while strengthening their defence with a Premier League-proven fullback in Milos Kerkez.
The Reds looked set to terrorise Europe and create a dynasty for years to come.
Following a loss in the curtain raiser of the season against Crystal Palace, Liverpool went on a 6-game winning streak before it all came crumbling down.
Despite their strong start to the season, a series of inconsistent runs, off-pitch drama involving club legend Mohamed Salah and with new additions Wirtz, Isak and Kerkez getting off to slow starts, the club now sits in fifth place in the league, outside of Champions League qualification with just eight games remaining.
After already being eliminated from the EFL Cup, the Champions League and the FA Cup are the only chances Liverpool have left to get their hands on some silverware.
In the Spanish Capital, their preparation for this season was different. Despite their disappointing season the year prior, former Real Madrid player and Bayer Leverkusen coach, Xabi Alonso, was announced as the new Madrid boss.
The biggest complaint from fans was a lack of tactical vision and structure within the club, and Alonso seemed like a match made in heaven to reinvigorate and uplift the squad.
Instead of continuing their recent rendition of the Galactico transfer philosophy, they signed three players aged twenty-two or younger in Carreras, Huijsen and Mastantuono, with the only big-name addition being Trent Alexander-Arnold, whom they acquired on a free transfer from Liverpool.
There looked to be a shift in culture and regime in Madrid, but did it work? Yes and no.
In his first 34 managerial games, Alonso won 24 games (70%-win ratio) and had one of the best defensive records in the league.
However, like Liverpool, midseason drama followed the club after an early-season Vinicius Jr benching sparked friction within the dressing room.
The nail in the coffin for Alonso was a Supercopa de España final defeat to bitter rivals Barcelona, as after that game and later that week, Xabi stepped down as the manager and was replaced by another former player, Alvaro Arbeloa, who oversaw the Real Madrid Castilla (the reserves team).
While he got off to a rougher start than his predecessor on the pitch, his locker room control was immediately apparent.
His public support and advocacy for Vinicius Jr and his preference to play players in their natural positions as opposed to positions that fit his system, a philosophy akin to the laissez-faire approach that saw Don Carlo win two Champions League titles in three seasons.
Now with a quarter of the season left, Real Madrid are a single point behind league leaders Barcelona and a recent uptick in form has breathed life back into Los Blancos as they prepare to make a run for their 16th UCL title.
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The future?
The last year and a half has been a tale of two different stories from Europe’s Elite.
With Liverpool still chasing a Champions League spot in the league, facing an always terrifying opponent in Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter-finals and with a one-nil deficit to overturn at Anfield against Galatasaray in the Champions League, the reigning Premier League champions are under pressure to save their season.
Meanwhile, an injury-ridden Madrid are hot on the tails of league leaders FC Barcelona and recently pummelled Manchester City 3-0 in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals.
Both clubs have everything to play for, and it will be a photo finish in England and Spain.
