The Real Madrid Schalke friendly brings the curtain down on José Mourinho’s first pre-season back in charge of Los Blancos, and it takes the squad somewhere the club has not been in more than a decade. Madrid close out their summer programme this weekend away to German side FC Schalke 04 in Gelsenkirchen, as Managing Madrid noted — the last tune-up before the LaLiga season starts.
Real Madrid Schalke: the last time in Gelsenkirchen
It is 11 years since Real Madrid last made an official visit to the Veltins-Arena. The two clubs were paired together in back-to-back Champions League round-of-16 ties in 2014 and 2015, and the first of those is still one of the great away nights of the modern era: a 6–1 demolition in which the BBC trio of Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo scored two goals apiece.
The 2015 visit was quieter but no less significant. Madrid debuted their bright pink away kit in the Champions League that night and won 2–0 through goals from Marcelo and Ronaldo — two away goals that ended up settling the tie, because Schalke then won 4–3 at the Santiago Bernabéu and Madrid squeezed through 5–4 on aggregate.
A completely different Real Madrid this time
The XI that started that night in Gelsenkirchen reads like a museum exhibit now: Iker Casillas; Dani Carvajal, Raphaël Varane, Pepe, Marcelo; Lucas Silva, Toni Kroos, Isco; Bale, Benzema and Ronaldo, with Carlo Ancelotti in the dugout. Not one of them is still at the club. Carvajal, the last survivor of that group, left the Bernabéu this summer, and the man leading the team back to Germany is Mourinho, appointed on 11 June 2026 for his second spell in charge.
What Mourinho wants from the trip
This is the final piece of a long summer. Madrid have already beaten Ferencváros and Deportivo — the Teresa Herrera was sealed at the Riazor — and with the club’s transfer business reported to be finished, the Portuguese now has the group he will start the campaign with. Marc Cucurella, Ibrahima Konaté, Bernardo Silva, Denzel Dumfries, Yan Diomande and Carlos Espí have all arrived, and Endrick is back from his loan spell.
Expect a competitive edge rather than a carnival. Schalke will fancy a scalp in front of their own crowd, and Mourinho gets one last look at the balance of his midfield and the shape of his front line before the points start counting. Madridistas will settle for a clean run-out, sharp minutes for the new faces and everybody walking off the pitch in one piece.
Real Madrid Schalke: what to watch
The obvious draw is Yan Diomande. The Ivory Coast winger arrived from RB Leipzig in a deal worth up to €140million — the most expensive signing in the club’s history — and he is expected to make his debut in Gelsenkirchen after sitting out the Deportivo game. Endrick is another to watch after his return from loan, while the senior core of Thibaut Courtois, Éder Militão, Federico Valverde and Vinícius Júnior will be after rhythm rather than fireworks. A 2025/26 that ended without a trophy for the first time since 2020/21 still stings, and Madrid need this season to start well — in a sense, it starts in Gelsenkirchen.
