Real Madrid defender gaining ground on Ancelotti-favourite star | OneFootball

Ferland Mendy began the 2024-25 season as Real Madrid’s undisputed starting left-back and Carlo Ancelotti’s preferred option for his defensive resilience.

As the season has progressed, however, he has slowly faded out and fallen out of favour and is struggling to meet the high expectations around him.

Having been pointed as one of the weak links in both of Real Madrid’s defeats against Barcelona and the loss at Anfield, Mendy is now being outshone by Fran Garcia who is taking strong steps towards earning the outright starting spot.

Making the most of his chance

As relayed in a recent report by Mundo Deportivo, Garcia is squeezing the most out of the minutes he receives and is now the highest he has been on Ancelotti’s pecking order.

The Spaniard was immense in Los Blancos’ win over Las Palmas in La Liga and shone with not only his attacking performance and combination with the forwards but with his defensive work as well.

Making the most of his chances. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

So far this season, Mendy has played 1443 minutes in 20 games for the club, and Garcia is slowly catching up with 1237 minutes in 23 games. It may not be long before he overtakes the Frenchman on that front.

Ancelotti has largely preferred Mendy over the Spaniard in the UEFA Champions League this season with Garcia only starting against Atalanta. Given his form, however, he is in the driver’s seat to start later tonight against RB Salzburg.

With Alphonso Davies now not likely to sign for Real Madrid, Garcia’s chances of staying at the club for the years to come have improved drastically.

Should he keep up his form and maintain his growth, he could well enter next season as Ancelotti’s most trusted resource in the department.