Explore every episode of the podcast The Real Deal: A Real Madrid Podcast

Jarod Hector joins Sid to discuss how Xabi Alonso will impact the individual impact of all our players on defense on a player-by-player basis: Bellingham, Mbappe, Rudiger, Valverde, Vinicius, and co. We grade their seasons within the context of how little defensive structure or organization they had, and then discuss what needs to change from them next season.

Loconte and Sid discuss Trent Alexander Arnold's fit at Real Madrid. In particular: how much Madrid will benefit from him, and how much he will benefit from the talent around him like Fede Valverde. How he revolutionized Klopp's Liverpool by helping them break down deep blocks, his crazy assist stats that everyone is familiar with by now, his De Bruyne/Fabregas type range from right back, how he compares to Marcelo defensively and offensively, and how he will likely become a new focal point of Real Madrid's buildup play.

StatsBomb founder Ali Elfakharany returns with Siddharth Ramsundar to preview the 2nd legs of the Champions League Quarterfinals. Do Real Madrid have a chance at upsetting Arsenal, and what would that game look like? We also look at the PSG - Aston Villa tie and the odds of Bayern Munich going away and winning in Milan. We also preview the hypothetical semifinal matchup Arsenal v PSG and wonder who Barcelona would rather face between Bayern Munich and Inter Milan.

On the first postgame episode of the new Real Deal, Siddharth Ramsundar is joined by Loconte and Jarod Hector to review a disappointing but not wholly surprising performance by Real Madrid at the Emirates. We go over the tactical mismatch between Ancelotti & Arteta in this game, the various things that went wrong on the pitch, the strategic flaws as a club that led Real Madrid here and the season-long issues that have shown in the data and eye-test. We then discuss hypotheticals like how we would do against PSG tactically, as well as how we may fare against Barcelona in the remaining matchups this season after this disappointing result. We even touch briefly on Dortmund v Barcelona at the end. Since this was the first episode with our new crew, we took a little bit longer to break things down than we normally will going forward. Enjoy!

Welcome to the new and improved Real Deal Podcast. On today's episode Siddharth Ramsundar is joined by Statsbomb founder (now HUDL Statsbomb) Ali Elfakharany to preview the Arsenal - Real Madrid tie & catchup about the state of European football. Catching up after a long time, we end up casually discussing all the Champions League contenders like PSG, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and Barcelona, the relative strength of different leagues, the evolution of the game, Mikel Arteta as a coach, and a bunch of other miscellaneous technical stuff.

Expect more structure in future episodes, but here's a casual long special to mark our return!

Loconte joins Sid to go over Xabi Alonso's arrival as coach and what to expect at Real Madrid. Will he marry positional spacing with relationist spontaneity to create a new revolutionary style of football? Or is that all tactical hype from twitter tacticos? Tune in.

Jarod joins Sid to go over the 4th clasico defeat of the season and to look ahead. We discuss Vinicius & Mbappe's chemistry, the weak block defending, the need to rotate going forward with the Club World Cup on the horizon, and more.

Loconte joins Sid to preview El Clasico tactics. How can Ancelotti setup to avoid a fourth straight defeat and keep the league alive? Who should Real Madrid sign this summer and what's with the reporting coming out of the club?

Jarod and Sid sit down to discuss Real Madrid's summer business. Who would be signed in an ideal summer? Why are so many potential signings considered so pricey? Has the stadium revenue situation hurt the team more than they are letting on? Tune in.

Jarod Hector joins Sid to discuss who they would keep, sell and loan out of the current Real Madrid squad.

Jarod Hector joins Sid to go over the improved tactics in the defeat to Barcelona, the shift to the 4-1-4-1 shape that salvaged the first half, Jude's dominance, Mbappe's performance off the bench, and more.

Loconte and Sid preview the Barcelona game: What's going on with the referee incident at the moment? Will it galvanize the team or will they struggle? Then they get into the ideal setup for tomorrow's game, as well as Barcelona's absences of Lewandowski and Balde and how that factor in. We discuss various tactical wrinkles like Tchouameni's presence as a screener, the need to attack Gerard Martin down the right, and having Bellingham defend higher up the field.

Jarod Hector joins Siddharth Ramsundar in the aftermath of Real Madrid's loss to Arsenal to talk about Real Madrid's direction and tactical flaws this season, stats behind the team's successes, Ancelotti's struggles to give the team structure that helps them, Jude Bellingham's position, the team's inability to replace Toni Kroos, what needs to change at the club going forward, and a whole lot more.

Jarod Hector joins Sid to discuss developmental and performance goals for Alonso to set for our squad next season in attack. How did they fare this last season, and what needs to change?

Loconte reacts to Xabi Alonso's appointment as new Real Madrid manager. Real Deal Live will soon be a recurring fixed segment on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Loconte is here to discuss his ideal summer of transfers for Real Madrid: Stiller, Nico Williams, Nico Paz, Muriqi, Budimir, Rodrygo, Ceballos, Fran Garcia and more.

Jarod Hector and Sid discuss how our new defensive signings can take on a large role in buildup play and mitigate the need for another midfield signing. The net total 'problem solving' capabilities of Trent, Huijsen and Carreras easily make up for the loss of playmaking and IQ we had with Modric, Kroos and Alaba going forward, it just won't look the exact same.

Jarod joins Sid to discuss PSG's dominant Champions League win, their organizational strategy and whether they are a threat to Real Madrid's Champions League dominance going forward, whether PSG got better without Mbappe, Mbappe-Ewing theory discussions, and Luka Doncic-Kylian Mbappe parallels.

Jarod Hector and Siddharth break down Real Madrid's dominant win over Salzburg at the Club World Cup.

Jarod Hector and Loconte breakdown Real Madrid vs. Pachuca match at the Club World Cup

Siddharth is joined by Yerr to discuss football twitter, fan communities, the evolution of streaming, where people get their opinions, the culture of regurgitating takes, the decline of Real Madrid analysis online since the passing of Om Arvind, and more.

Jarod Hector, Loconte and Siddharth discuss the tactical dynamics of the Real Madrid - Al Hilal match, the initial ideas we saw from Xabi Alonso, Simone Inzaghi's counterattacking gameplan, and more on this postgame show.

Jarod Hector and Siddharth talk about what to expect at the Club World Cup, Xabi's amazing quotes, Carreras' performance for Benfica, Franco's performance for River Plate, and more.

Jarod and Loconte talk latest Real Madrid news and whether Los Blancos players are overrated or underrated by football media.

Loconte discusses Xabi Alonso's first day as coach, the left back situation with Carreras stalling, reports on Arda Guler in midfield, whether Alonso will treat the Club World Cup as a preseason, Franco Mastantuono, and the reports surrounding Rodrygo.

Sid reacts to Portugal's stunning victory in the Nations League Final and discusses Lamine's surprisingly weak statistical case for Ballon d'Or.

Loconte and Sid review the offense-heavy Nations League semifinal, and go over the performances of individuals relevant to Real Madrid: Mbappe, Huijsen, Dembele, Deschamps, Nico Williams, and more.

Loconte is joined by Mazin to review Real Madrid's status after the Club World Cup. What can we takeaway from what we saw at the tournament, versus what was just a result of the heat and circumstances in which the games were played? What major points of emphasis should Xabi Alonso have going forward and what profiles were missing?

Loconte and Jarod Hector discuss the Vinicius-Mbappe dynamics, which were put in the spotlight once again during the loss to PSG at the Club World Cup. Is their lack of defensive execution overplayed? Will they coexist offensively?

Joel Adejola joins Siddharth to talk about Alvaro Carreras' time at Manchester United. We project his time at Real Madrid, discuss the politics behind his time at Manchester United the Rashford-Barcelona situation, and more.

Jarod Hector, Loconte and Sid react to PSG's victory over Real Madrid. What are the long term concerns for this team after a game like this?

Jarod Hector and Loconte preview the FIFA Club World Cup semifinal clash between the two most talented squads in world football: Real Madrid & PSG.

Jarod Hector, Siddharth and Taalib break down Real Madrid's 3-2 win over Borussia Dortmund in the Club World Cup Quarterfinals.

Loconte and Jarod Hector grade Real Madrid's squad under Xabi Alonso through 4 games.

Siddharth is joined by Damii of the White House Podcast to break down Real Madrid's win over Juventus at the Club World Cup.

Loconte and Jarod Hector talk about the upcoming Club World Cup matchup between Real Madrid & Juventus. Tactics, strategy, personnel, Xabi Alonso's adjustments, Jude's new role and more.

Jarod Hector and Loconte are here to discuss the heated controversial subject of Vinicius Junior's next contract. How much is he worth? Is he using Saudi Arabia as leverage? What's his trajectory like as a winger, a position that traditionally peaks young? What should Florentiono Perez do? How much would we renew him for? Where would you be comfortable selling him if it came down to it?

TrueHoop creator Henry Abbott joins Jarod Hector to dig into the science behind the club’s never-ending fitness setbacks. From ACL blows to soft-tissue strains, we look at what’s happening inside Valdebebas, why so many players go down at the worst possible time, the evolution of this space from Henry's book "Ballistic" and what the data says Real Madrid must change going forward.

Loconte is joined by first time guest Cerebrone to discuss how Xabi Alonso will utilize Kylian Mbappe. What are Mbappe's preferences, what will Alonso need for the team, and how can he synergize best with Vinicius?

Siddharth is joined by Ruri Barlow the editor of Football Espana to predict and project the best teams in La Liga. Who will win the league? How do Atletico Madrid and Barcelona look? What about Betis, Celta Vigo, Valencia and Sociedad? Tune into hear Ruri's fantastic insight!

Amidst Nico Paz cooking for Cesc Fabregas' Como and the news about Tottenham's bid for him, Loconte and Jarod Hector discuss what they like from him at Como, and what they expect the club to do with him going forward.

Loconte & Jarod Hector and a new guest are back to break down Xabi Alonso's tactics and Real Madrid's win over Oviedo in La Liga.

Jarod Hector and Loconte discuss major talking points around Real Madrid this week, including Xabi Alonso's defensive approach in his first game in charge, attacking dynamics, the importance of the international break for Real Madrid's health, and more.

Loconte and Siddharth review Real Madrid's win over Osasuna. We discuss Xabi Alonso's new system, Mbappe's dribbling, Rodrygo's absence, Franco off the bench, and more.

Loconte, Jarod and Siddharth are here to discuss expectations for Real Madrid 2025/26. Which injuries are the biggest bottlenecks? Will Mbappe and Vinicius coexist? What if Militao or Gonzalo Garcia get hurt? How will Xabi Alonso approach big games? What trophies can we win?

Loconte is joined by Cerebrone to discuss Eduardo Camavinga: his time in Ligue 1, his career trajectory, and his injury issues at Real Madrid. What will his future at Real Madrid look like? Will he ever get to the point of being a starter? Does Real Madrid now need more midfield depth given his injuries?

Loconte & Jarod Hector hop on to discuss the recent comments by Gavi and Olmo about summer transfers and squad strength, and generally break down FC Barcelona's overall obsession with Real Madrid.

Jarod Hector, Loconte, and Taalib break down Madrid's 2-1 win over Mallorca ahead of the international break.

Loconte and Sid break down the win over Marseille: Vinicius' benching, dealing with De Zerbi's tactics, and more.

Ali Elfakharany of StatsBomb joins Siddharth to rank the Champions League Contenders this season.