Per top French news outlet L’Equipe, French superstar Kylian Mbappe is a doubt for Real Madrid vs. Benfica in the second leg of the Champions League playoffs, and now Spanish newspaper MARCA is reporting that center midfielder Federico Valverde also isn’t 100 percent for the clash.
The stakes couldn’t be higher for Real Madrid on Wednesday night in the Champions League. They barely survived Benfica in the first leg, with Vinicius Junior’s moment of individual brilliance, overshadowed by Gianluca Prestianni’s infamous face-covered (almost certainly racist) remarks to the Brazilian superstar, being the lone difference in avenging Madrid’s putrid league phase loss to Jose Mourinho.
Now, Real Madrid are behind the eight ball, because if Mbappe is out or not at his best, they will be missing one of the top Ballon d’Or favorites this season and their most consistent star of a difficult 2025/26 campaign.
But Valverde’s injury would also be a major blow. Real Madrid are already ailing in midfield with Franco Mastantuono and Dani Ceballos both out injured, putting more pressure on Arda Guler and Eduardo Camavinga to perform.
Not having Valverde would take another great box-to-box midfielder out of the equation for Real Madrid, as well as one of the team’s best players and most important big-game players in the Champions League, especially against grueling physical opponents like Mourinho’s Benfica.
Joe Soriano is the editor of The Trivela Effect and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2010. He’s led top digital communities like The Real Champs (Real Madrid) and has run sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. He also helped manage NFL Spin Zone and Daily DDT, covering the NFL and pro wrestling.