Round of 16 exit 

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Life as interim Real Madrid manager couldn’t have got off to much of a worse start for former player Álvaro Arbeloa. The Spaniard took the reigns from Xabi Alonso, who was relieved of his duties this week after losing the Spanish Super Cup final to rivals Barcelona, and Los Blancos are now out of another competition. Real Madrid were shocked in the round of 16 of the Copa Del Rey, as LaLiga 2 side Albacete beat them 3-2.

Albacete are currently 17th in the Spanish second-flight and have a squad market value of just €14.5 million. To put that into context, Kylian Mbappé alone has a market value of €200m. The likes of Vinicius Junior and Arda Güler started the game for Arbeloa’s team but it wasn’t enough. Real Madrid’s starting XI boasted a market value of €561m. Albacete’s was just €4.6m. The defeat means the only trophies available now to Real Madrid are LaLiga, in which they are four points adrift of Barcelona, and the Champions League.

The decision to appoint Arbeloa, even on a temporary basis, was met with scepticism from some sections of the Real Madrid fanbase and this Copa Del Rey giant killing is not going to improve that. Speaking to the media before the game, Arbeloa said, “On Saturday I turn 43 and 20 of those years have been at this club. Every day I’m at the best club in the world. This club is about winning, winning, and winning again. When I was a player, I learned those values from the people in that dressing room.” That message clearly didn’t get across at the Carlos Belmonte Stadium this Wednesday.