Real Madrid are coming off a sour performance, losing 1-0 to a quality La Liga opponent in Real Betis, but there is still a lot to love about Jose Mourinho's outfit in the 2026/27 season. And one of those things is the improved depth. Real Madrid sought to make signings, finally, this past summer transfer window to help Mourinho become two deep at every position, and while they did not sign the extra midfielder and center back he wanted, they are still much stronger now than before.
With more competition means that there are some real talents stuck on the bench for Mourinho. Here are three potential world class players who are currently slotted as backups.
RW Yan Diomande
Yan Diomande cost a whopping 140 million euros to set a surprising Real Madrid transfer record, but the Ivorian international is having trouble getting into the starting lineup because of how brilliantly Arda Guler is performing in the new inverted right wing playmaker role that Jose Mourinho invented for him. But make no mistake, Diomande is a potential world class player, and he was one of th best wingers in all of European football last season with 20 goal contributions and a lot of great work on the ball for RB Leipzig in the 2025/26 Bundesliga season.
RB Trent Alexander-Arnold
Trent Alexander-Arnold is very much world class, and if his perfect performance at right back against Malaga is any indication, he should be the starter for Mourinho instead of Denzel Dumfries. But with Dumfries getting starts in three of the four La Liga games thus far under Mourinho, Trent is currently slotted as a backup and honestly one of the best bench players in all of world football at this time.
CB Eder Militao
Dean Huijsen and Ibrahima Konate have exceeded expectations under Mourinho as the center back duo, and the Frenchman looks like an absolute bargain of a free agent signing for the Merengues. In an ideal world, though, Eder Militao would be the starter coming off injury, but with Huijsen and Konate playing as they are right now, Mou is likely looking at forcing Militao into competing to win his starting job back. Based on how he played in the past, Militao would be a slam dunk starter, but after multiple serious injuries, the jury is still out on him being the world's best - but he is still world class until proven otherwise.
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