Real Madrid are set to play their final friendly game of the preseason tomorrow when they will travel to Germany to face Schalke 04. This match has been hosted by the German side on the 25th anniversary of their stadium, the Veltins-Arena.
As Diario AS has reported, the Merengues have published the squad for this game, and there are significant changes in the list over the last friendly played against Deportivo. The most notable addition is that of Yan Diomande, who is now the most expensive signing in the history of Real Madrid, while other new signings like Marc Cucurella and Ibrahima Konate have also been named in the squad for the first time.
Three other important players, Thibaut Courtois, Jude Bellingham, and Kylian Mbappe have also been named in the squad for the first time this summer, as they returned to the Merengue club quite late after going quite advanced into the World Cup, and thus starting and ending their holidays late.
Another important player who still remains absent and who would not be able to participate in even a single friendly this summer is the midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni. He is suffering from a serious thigh strain and thus is unavailable for this match. Similarly, Endrick has also not been named in this list as he is following a special injury prevention plan.
This last friendly will be an opportunity for Jose Mourinho to field his strongest attack, with Vinicius, Mbappe, and Diomande all available, and also his defense for the next season, as Cucurella and Konate will be available to play.
After this game, Real Madrid will have a week’s time to prepare for the start of the next season, with the match against Espanyol scheduled for Saturday, 22 August.