MADRID: Spain’s World Cup confetti has barely been swept away, but LaLiga is looming large with Barcelona defending their domestic title and Real Madrid, bruised by two trophyless seasons, throwing money, muscle and Jose Mourinho at the problem. A little under a month after Spain beat Argentina to claim their second global trophy in New Jersey, adding global supremacy to their European Championship triumph, the country’s football gaze has swung from national euphoria to club intrigue. At the center of it all are familiar combatants: back-to-back champions Barcelona and a Real Madrid side whose summer has carried the unmistakable whiff of urgency. Newly re-elected Real President Florentino Perez has overseen one of the club’s most aggressive transfer windows in years, bringing Mourinho back to the Bernabeu from Benfica in a move that is bold, nostalgic and loaded with risk. Once known as “The Special One,” Mourinho returns to old territory with plenty to prove. He has gone 11 years without winning a league title and four without any trophy, bouncing between jobs and collecting controversies rather than medals. For Perez, the gamble is equally stark. Real’s 2024 LaLiga and Champions League double, which delivered their 15th European Cup and sixth in 11 seasons, feels oddly distant after two successive campaigns without silverware. The signing of Kylian Mbappe had looked like the rich getting richer, especially alongside Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr, but the glittering attack failed to produce the expected trophies. Perez has responded with a summer of high stakes.
