Real Madrid, Barcelona secure preseason friendly wins with new signings debuting

Real Madrid and FC Barcelona kicked off their preseason campaigns with victories in friendly matches on Sunday. Real Madrid defeated Schalke 04 3-0 in their final preparatory game, featuring the return of Kylian Mbappé after the 2026 World Cup and the debut of new signing Yan Diomandé.

Mbappé opened the scoring in the 6th minute, followed by a goal from Dean Huijsen in the 20th minute. Carlos Espí, a halftime substitute, secured the third goal in the 56th minute. Diomandé, acquired for $162 million from Leipzig, made his first appearance for Real Madrid in the 61st minute.

Meanwhile, FC Barcelona, the reigning LaLiga champions, secured a 5-2 win against Basel in Switzerland. English newcomer Anthony Gordon, signed from Newcastle, also debuted for the Catalan club. Karim Adeyemi scored Barcelona's first goal in the 34th minute, though Jean Doucouré equalized before halftime. Hamza Abdelkarim put Barcelona back in front in the 49th minute, and late goals from Lamine Yamal (penalty, 81'), Kazeem Olaigbe (penalty, 84'), and Jesse Bisiwu (89', 90+1') sealed the 5-2 victory for Hansi Flick's side.

Barcelona has one more friendly scheduled against Al Ahly on Wednesday before beginning their LaLiga season at Elche on August 23. Real Madrid will start their league campaign a day earlier, on August 22, away at Espanyol.