The Barcelona-Real Madrid feud that needs to be sorted for Spain before the 2026 World Cup

Martin Macdonald

27 Mar 2026 07:45 CDT
3 min read

Spain will go into the 2026 World Cup as one of the favourites to lift the famous gold trophy but there's an ongoing feud in the background that threatens to derail their preparations for the tournament.

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For the next World Cup, which takes place in the United States, Canada and Mexico, La Roja are in a group alongside Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay.

Having won the European Championships under Luis de la Fuente in 2024, they are expected to go deep into the latter stages.

But, the Spain boss needs to make sure everyone is on the same page, which can be tough when you have a raft of players from Barcelona and Real Madrid in the squad. In the past, Barca and Madrid players have put their domestic differences aside for the good of Spain and that certainly worked out, with a World Cup win in 2010 bookended by two European Championship victories in 2008 and 2012.

At the moment, there's tension between Barcelona's Lamine Yamal and Madrid's veteran defender Dani Carvajal.

The teenager has struggled to stay out of the headlines this season. Amid concerns over his long-term fitness because of a groin problem, the winger’s behaviour both on and off the field has come in the spotlight.

He was central to an angry clash following Barcelona’s loss in El Clasico to Real Madrid in October while there have been reports that he is unpopular with Spain team-mates at a national team level.

Carvajal reportedly approached Yamal, allegedly telling him: "You speak too much," in response to Yamal's pre-match comments on Twitch where he suggested Los Blancos "steal" games.

A recent report indicated that certain members of the national team are unhappy with the way the player acts.

Indeed, it has been claimed that some senior players even told De la Fuente to leave the Barcelona star at home for one international break.

El Nacional claims: “Some see the attitude of a precocious star. They say he's no longer the quiet, focused kid he was a year ago. He seems arrogant, even distant. In a locker room that values unity over egos, this is starting to weigh on them.”

De la Fuente has previously been public in his support for Lamine, explaining in March: “What do I demand from Lamine? To keep enjoying football, to keep doing what he likes, to keep understanding football the way he does.

“What do I demand from the rest of you [the media]? To understand that he is not a mature player yet. He still needs to grow.

“He can get really far, but it's you guys who criticise him and want to 'kill' him.”

Hug it out

De la Fuente, for his part, doesn't seem to be concerned by the situation, however, and expects all the players in his World Cup squad to do what is best for Spain.

“In a Clasico, you defend certain colours, and there is great responsibility, and with the national team, you defend a different situation and here you also have to know how to rise to the occasion, and they are doing that," the Spain boss told DAZN.

"And I have no doubt that when they see each other, they will be eager to give each other a hug, for sure, and I will celebrate with them at that moment.”

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