Jude Bellingham has been removed from Real Madrid's 2026 schedule.

Jude Bellingham is looking forward to better times ahead, following Real Madrid's surprising decision to omit him from their 2026 schedule.

Real Madrid has made a strange move by suddenly removing Jude Bellingham from their 2026 calendar, a decision sure to spark speculation about the 22-year-old midfielder's future. The English star was also recently left out by England coach Thomas Tuchel for the current international call-up.

Bellingham was prominently featured on the cover of Real Madrid's 2025 calendar, even highlighted as the "main figure" for August. However, in the new £10.99 edition for next year, his name is completely absent.

There is also no place for Trent Alexander-Arnold, the £8.7 million summer signing from Liverpool, as his contract with the Anfield club has expired.

The faces chosen to replace the two English stars on the cover are Dean Huijsen (a £50 million center-back from Bournemouth) and the young Turkish talent Arda Güler.

Inside the monthly pages, veteran players like Dani Carvajal (33 years old) and Eder Militao (27 years old) have been selected.

Bellingham faces the risk of losing his starting spot at Real since returning from shoulder surgery last month. The former Borussia Dortmund star has only started one match for Real since his comeback in September. That single match was a 2-5 defeat against rivals Atletico Madrid, while in the following two games, he only came on as a substitute.

Before the Madrid derby, coach Xabi Alonso emphasized that he "really needs" Bellingham in the squad and hopes for his full recovery soon: “I need his flexibility and versatility. Some players tend to play fixed roles, but Jude is not like that.”

Bellingham's exclusion from the recent England squad surprised many, but Tuchel believes his current fitness level at Real is the deciding factor.

The German coach explained: “Jude is a special player, and sometimes special players can have exceptions. But for this call-up, we decided to keep the existing squad. He hasn't reached match fitness yet, hasn't completed a full game, and has only started once.”

Nevertheless, Tuchel confirmed he remains a “big fan” of Bellingham but needs to evaluate other options if the star is absent in the future: “Do I believe the team is stronger with Jude? Yes, absolutely. He is one of the best midfielders in the world. But what if a player like Jude gets injured before the World Cup? Are we just going to give up?”

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