No light at the end of the tunnel: Why Camavinga's struggles define Real Madrid's brutal 2026 season

Eduardo Camavinga ends a more than complicated season. It is for Real Madrid and for Arbeloa himself, with La Liga already lost, waiting for the curtain to come down as soon as possible. For the Frenchman, these remaining games are not helping him to regain his confidence, which has been badly shaken since the infamous sending-off against Bayern . The Frenchman lacked experience at the Allianz, when he held on to the ball when he was already on a yellow card , and the referee's error did the rest.

After the blow in the Champions League, Madrid resumed their La Liga campaign at home to Alaves. Camavinga was again a substitute, although the decision was not so surprising. It was understood that it was best to protect the former Rennes player from the ire of the Bernabeu, still hot and disenchanted with everyone and especially with the Frenchman for that incident. He came on in the second half and did not hide. In fact, at the end of the match he went to greet the fans aware of what he was exposing himself to.

Back to LaLiga last Saturday with the visit to the Benito Villamarin. As against Bayern, Tchouameni was not there, with some discomfort, and Camavinga was again on the bench. This time Pitarch came on. It was a surprise for the Frenchman, who in recent days, and more so since his unfortunate play in Munich, has heard the support of his coach. Arbeloa has made it clear that Camavinga is a footballer with arguments to play for Madrid and that he hopes he will stay for many years, but then his decisions have gone in another direction.

It is true that Arbeloa, since his arrival, has made the Frenchman play. "Camavinga with me has played quite a lot. More than in the first part of the season. He was a starter and will be a starter tomorrow. I consider him important for me and for the club," he said before facing Girona. However, this confidence has not been reflected at the key moment of the campaign .

The World Cup in sight

So far, Camavinga has told his trusted people that his idea is to turn the situation around and that he has no intention of accepting any offer this summer. It is clear that this final stretch of the season was not going to be of much comfort to have some continuity because Madrid is going to be left with a blank season, but for the Frenchman, who is under contract until 2029, it is important to play in the World Cup and he also needs minutes.

However, Arbeloa has already made it clear that he cannot think about giving minutes with a view to the World Cup. Camavinga is not in Carvajal's situation, true, but he is hardly counting for Deschamps in France's matches although the coach, so far, counts on him. In the last two friendlies, he was a substitute against Brazil and played just half an hour against Colombia.