Real Madrid now know their opponents for the 2026–27 UEFA Champions League league phase after the draw was held in Monaco on August 27. The Spanish giants have been handed a challenging schedule that includes meetings with Arsenal, Inter Milan and Roma, giving them another opportunity to renew some of European football’s most familiar rivalries.
Real Madrid will play eight different opponents under the competition’s 36-team league format. At the Santiago Bernabéu, they will welcome Inter Milan, PSV Eindhoven, RB Leipzig and LASK. Their away fixtures will take them to Arsenal, Roma, Shakhtar Donetsk and AEK Athens.
The clash with Arsenal is expected to be one of Madrid’s biggest tests in the league phase. Inter also bring considerable European pedigree, while Roma have regularly featured in continental competition. The fixtures will provide returning Real Madrid manager José Mourinho with an early opportunity to measure his squad against established European opposition.
The new Champions League format means every team plays eight matches, with four at home and four away. The top eight clubs in the overall league table qualify directly for the round of 16, while teams finishing from ninth to 24th must go through a two-legged knockout play-off.
Real Madrid’s campaign begins in September, with the league phase running from September 8, 2026, through January 27, 2027. The final is scheduled for June 5, 2027, at Madrid’s Metropolitano Stadium.
With a deep European history and a record 15 Champions League titles, Real Madrid will once again enter the competition among the leading contenders. But the demanding schedule means Mourinho’s side will need consistency from the opening weeks if they want to secure a direct route into the knockout rounds.
