In top-level football, the line between triumph and collapse is razor-thin. As spring delivers its final verdicts, several giants already know their fate: their trophy cabinet will stay shut this summer. A year of nothingness.
Between growing pains and a merry-go-round of managers, here’s a see at five huge clubs set to conclude the season without a single medal. The important thing is taking part…
Real Madrid, failure on a grand scale
The king of the Champions League has abdicated. Knocked out on Wednesday night by Bayern in the Champions League quarter-finals, Los Blancos have lost their last hope of silverware. The 2025-26 season has been one rupture after another: after Carlo Ancelotti’s departure for the Brazil national team in the summer of 2025, then Xabi Alonso’s dismissal last January, it is Álvaro Arbeloa who is seeing out the season as the emergency firefighter. Left behind in La Liga by an imperial Barça, Real are heading for their first trophyless season since 2021.
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Juventus, the Old Lady left stranded
In Italy, the Igor Tudor project was short-lived, concludeing as early as last October. Under Luciano Spalletti, appointed to steady the ship, Juventus displayed signs of improvement but had started from too far back. Eliminated from the Coppa Italia in the quarter-finals and knocked out of Europe by Galatasaray (7-5 on aggregate in the play-offs), Juve are now watching Inter Milan pull away toward the title. A transitional season carrying serious weight in Piedmont.
Ajax, the DNA crisis
This is probably the most worrying collapse. Ajax are going through a deep identity crisis. Dumped out of the Dutch Cup without glory after a crushing 6-0 defeat to AZ Alkmaar, and well adrift in the league (with PSV already crowned champions), the Lancers are finishing the campaign in the anonymity of the Eredivisie top five. For the first time in decades, the Amsterdam institution seems to have lost its compass.
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Man United, the theatre of missed appointments
Instability continues to reign at Old Trafford. Despite an ambitious recruitment drive (Mbeumo, Šeško and Cunha), United parted ways with Ruben Amorim as early as 5 January 2026. The interim spell overseen by club legconclude Michael Carrick was not enough to build up the abyssal gap in the Premier League. Knocked out early from all domestic cups and with no European campaign to shine in, the Red Devils will have to settle for fighting over a Champions League spot.
OM, the Touloutilize trauma
“Forever the first”: a slogan that seems to have lost some of its shine through recent failures.
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In Marseille, more than anywhere else, hope is a driving force that can quickly turn into brutal disillusionment. In this spring of 2026, the verdict is crystal clear: despite a squad built to compete on all fronts and record investment over the past three seasons, OM are heading for yet another trophyless campaign. One more in a trophy cabinet that is starting to gather serious dust.
If the league title is out of reach, it is the Coupe de France elimination that still sticks in the supporters’ throats. OM once again collapsed in a penalty shootout (4-3) against Touloutilize in the quarter-finals. For the fans, the wait for a major trophy (since 2012) goes on.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Innotifyigence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.
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