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The ever-controversial José Mourinho chose to leave record-setting signing Yan Diomande out of his starting eleven for Real Madrid's 2026–27 La Liga season opener against Espanyol on Saturday.
Los Blancos head into Saturday's match eager to make their mark after going two seasons without claiming a major title. The 15-time European champions brought in six new additions to the Bernabéu this summer to bolster their squad: Diomande, Marc Cucurella, Ibrahima Konaté, Denzel Dumfries, Bernardo Silva and Carlos Espí.
Among the summer recruits, Diomande carried the heftiest price tag; the 19-year-old arrived at Real Madrid in a deal valued at up to €140 million ($161.6 million) after a standout campaign with RB Leipzig. If he meets all his performance bonuses, the winger will surpass Jude Bellingham as the club's most expensive signing ever.
Nevertheless, Mourinho passed over Diomande on Saturday, handing the starting berth to Arda Güler on the right wing—a spot widely anticipated to be the Côte d'Ivoire international's own.
Real Madrid Confirmed Lineup vs. Espanyol
Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Courtois; Dumfries, Konaté, Huijsen, Carreras; Silva, Valverde; Güler, Bellingham, Vinícius Júnior; Mbappé.
Substitutes: Andriy Lunin (GK), Sergio Mestre (GK), Eduardo Camavinga, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Marc Cucurella, Carlos Espí, Brahim Díaz, Antonio Rüdiger, Yan Diomande, Jorge Cestero, Mario Rivas, Alexis Ciria.
Why Diomande Is Not Starting in Real Madrid's League Opener
Mourinho revealed very little during his pre-match press conference on Friday, declining to drop any hints regarding his lineup against Espanyol. The reasoning behind Diomande's omission remains unclear, though a number of factors likely influenced the manager's thinking.
Diomande featured just once during preseason after putting pen to paper on his seven-year contract with Real Madrid. The teenager logged 29 minutes in the club's 3–0 win over Schalke, marking his first action since Côte d'Ivoire were eliminated from the World Cup in the round of 32.
A shortage of match sharpness, coupled with his youth and limited top-level experience, likely led Mourinho to keep Diomande among the substitutes for what is set to be a demanding La Liga opener for Los Blancos. Treading carefully and gradually integrating the high-profile signing may not be the crowd-pleasing call, but it could well prove the wiser move over the course of the season.
Mourinho also made a point of stressing the importance of squad competition and signaling his intention to rotate his lineup frequently this campaign. "I don't want to settle on a fixed starting eleven. I want to keep competition alive because we have so many games ahead. There will be stretches where we play every three days.
"And when you consider elite players like Trent or Dumfries, or Cucurella and Carreras, it's simply not realistic for one to play 60 matches and the other none. Or one 10 and the other 50. That's just not feasible. We have enormous quality throughout the squad."