These 5 European giants doomed to a trophyless season | OneFootball

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 not be opening this summer. The year of nothingness.

Between growing pains and the managerial merry-go-round, here is a look at five major clubs that will finish the season without the slightest medal. The important thing is to take part...

Real Madrid, a full-scale failure

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 of total upheaval: after Carlo Ancelotti left for the Brazil national team in the summer of 2025, then Xabi Alonso was sacked last January, it is Álvaro Arbeloa who is ending the season as the emergency firefighter.

Left behind in La Liga by an imperious Barça, Real are about to complete their first trophyless season since 2021.

Juventus, the Old Lady left stranded

In Italy, the Igor Tudor project was short-lived, ending as early as last October. Under Luciano Spalletti, appointed to steady the ship, Juventus have shown some improvement but were starting from too far back.

Knocked out of the Coppa Italia in the quarter-finals and dumped out of Europe by Galatasaray (7-5 on aggregate in the playoffs), Juve are now watching Inter Milan pull away toward the title. A transitional season that weighs heavily in Piedmont.

Ajax, an identity crisis

This is probably the most worrying downfall. Ajax are going through a deep identity crisis.

Eliminated ingloriously from the Dutch Cup with a crushing 6-0 defeat to AZ Alkmaar, and left far behind in the league (with PSV already champions), the Lanciers are ending 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.

Man United, the theatre of missed appointments

Instability continues to reign at Old Trafford. Despite an ambitious summer recruitment drive (Mbeumo, Šeško and Cunha), United had to part ways with manager Ruben Amorim as early as January 5.

The interim spell handled by club legend Michael Carrick has not been enough to make up the abyssal gap in the Premier League.

Dumped out early from all domestic cups and with no European campaign to shine in, the Red Devils will have to settle for fighting for a Champions League spot.

OM, the Toulouse trauma

"Forever the first": a slogan that seems to have lost some of its shine with recent failures. 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 unequivocal: despite a squad built to compete on all fronts and major recruitment over the last three years, OM are preparing to endure another trophyless season. 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 Toulouse in the quarter-finals.

For the fans, the wait for a major trophy (since 2012) goes on.

Honourable mentions: Liverpool, Benfica, AC Milan, Tottenham & Borussia Dortmund.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.