4 hours ago
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Jude Bellingham and Trent Alexander-Arnold have mysteriously been left out of Real Madrid's official calendar for 2026.
Despite gracing the 2025 edition as one of their cover stars, Bellingham is nowhere to be seen for next year.
And Alexander-Arnold has been left out despite arriving at the club well in advance of the likes of Alvaro Carreras, who is included.
Club calendars are often a popular present for parents to buy their kids but any young fans of the England stars will be let down with this one.
Stars such as Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr, Thibaut Courtois, and Huijsen grace the cover of the calendar, which fans can pre-order for £10.99.
The full list of players involved is Mbappe, Aurelien Tchouameni, Courtois, Franco Mastantuono, Vinicius Jr, Arda Guler, Huijsen, Dani Carvajal, Alvaro Carreras, Federico Valverde, Eder Militao, and Brahim Diaz.
Jude Bellingham and Trent Alexander-Arnold have been excluded from Real Madrid's club calendar for 2026
The Madrid calendar, which will be out soon, costs Los Blancos supporters £10.99
Cover stars include Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr, and former Bournemouth man Dean Huijsen
It comes in what has been a tricky few months for Bellingham and Alexander-Arnold.
Bellingham finally underwent shoulder surgery in July to address an injury which first occurred in October 2023, and that ruled him out of action until September 20.
He has since been criticised for a lack of fitness by the Spanish press and featured in their 5-2 thrashing by Atletico Madrid - their worst derby defeat in 75 years.
Thomas Tuchel also left him out of his squad for the most recent international break, claiming that the 'teamwork' and 'team spirit' were at their peak in the last camp without him.
'The last camp was only three and a half weeks ago. Teamwork, team spirit were at the highest level so far,' said Tuchel. 'That's why we decided to invite the same group into this camp, to make more stable what we started to build.
'Are there players out there who deserve to be with us? Yes, for sure. Is there a way back into the team through performance? 100 per cent.
'We think this is the best and most straightforward position. The competition is on to be in the squad and to make it onto the pitch.
'I understand your focus on Jude [Bellingham]; he is a very special player, and for special players, there are special rules.
Bellingham is yet to reach full fitness despite returning from a surgery lay-off and has been excluded from Thomas Tuchel's current England camp
'But for this camp we decided to stick with out decision to invite the same team, that also applies to Jude. He always deserves to be in camp.
'There is also the situation that he hasn't gathered his full rhythm for Real Madrid. He hasn't finished one full match until now; he has only started one now.
'He is getting back to full strength. We had a phone call. There is no issue from that side, he just lacks rhythm.'
As for Alexander-Arnold, he has struggled to nail down a starting spot as he battles with club captain Carvajal for the right-back position.
He has has been ruled out with a hamstring injury since mid-September and could miss his reunion with Liverpool at Anfield on November 4 as a result.
