With an average age of just 25, Real Madrid currently has its youngest squad in nearly 30 years.
The club only has four players over the age of 30: defenders Dani Carvajal and David Alaba, goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois (all 33), and center-back Antonio Rüdiger (32). Meanwhile, five players are 21 or younger: Gonzalo Garcia (21), Arda Güler, Dean Huijsen, Fran Gonzalez (20), Endrick (19), and the expected addition of Franco Mastantuono (18). According to Marca, the team’s average age is 25.07.
A meme image shows Real Madrid’s youthful squad for next season, featuring Dean Huijsen (right) and Franco Mastantuono (second from the right). Source: Marca
This is the youngest squad Real Madrid has started a season with since the 1998–1999 campaign, when the average age was 24.88. Back then, they also had only four players over 30, such as Davor Šuker and Fernando Hierro (both 31). On the flip side, they boasted young talents like Clarence Seedorf (23), Raúl, Guti (22), and Samuel Eto’o and Iker Casillas (18).
Club president Florentino Pérez is building a new generation of stars, with older players no longer serving as pillars of the team. Veteran midfielder Luka Modrić, 39, has moved to Milan. Lucas Vázquez has also left on a free transfer. Carvajal, returning from a knee ligament injury, will only serve as a backup to Trent Alexander-Arnold. Over the past three summers, other senior players have gradually left, including Benzema, Hazard, Mariano Díaz, Joselu, Nacho, and Toni Kroos.
This current squad may not yet match the level of the Galácticos 1.0 era (with Figo, Zidane, Ronaldo Nazário, and Beckham) or 2.0 (Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Kaká, Xabi Alonso), but coach Xabi Alonso still has top stars in key positions, such as Kylian Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior, Jude Bellingham, and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Mastantuono, just 17, has already been called up to the Argentina national team. He will officially become a Real Madrid player on August 14—his 18th birthday. He could play alongside Güler, Bellingham, Garcia, Huijsen, or Raúl Asencio. As a result, Real’s starting lineup could be even younger than the squad’s overall average of 25.
Since they recently participated in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, Real will only play one preseason friendly—against WSG Tirol (Austria) on the night of August 12. A week later, they will kick off their La Liga campaign against Osasuna at the Bernabéu.