Not Vinicius Junior: FC Barcelona’s Cubarsí warns teammates about Real Madrid star ahead of El Clásico

Real Madrid and FC Barcelona will be clashing on Sunday for the first El Clasico of the 2025-26 season, and Pau Cubarsí warned his teammates on a Real Madrid star that wasn’t Vinicius Junior.

The La Liga clash between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid is just around the corner, with the game at the Santiago Bernabéu set to take place on Sunday. With both teams battling for the top spot in the league, young defender Pau Cubarsí has issued a warning to his teammates, and it wasn’t about Vinicius Junior.

Vinicius remains one of Real Madrid’s biggest weapons, but the winger has struggled to find his best form under Xabi Alonso. Among Los Blancos’ many stars, one continues to shine brightest, Kylian Mbappé, who has taken the lead as Madrid’s main offensive threat with his consistent goalscoring performances.

Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Cubarsí was asked about the challenge of defending the French striker and delivered a clear message to his teammates. “Everyone knows who Mbappé is. We have to keep an eye on him and on all of Real Madrid’s players, who are world-class,” said Cubarsí, who is expected to start at the heart of Barcelona’s defense.

The Spanish defender also acknowledged the risks of playing with such a high defensive line: “We’ve adjusted four things, and it should work well for us. We’ll have to stop him in the best way possible, but above all, we need to focus on ourselves.“

Mbappé currently sits atop both the La Liga and Champions League scoring charts, with 10 and 5 goals respectively. Although his 11-game scoring streak recently came to an end against Juventus on Wednesday, the French star remains one of Real Madrid’s biggest threats heading into El Clásico.

Barcelona riding positive momentum ahead of El Clásico

While Mbappé is in great form, he and Real Madrid will face a tough test against a Barcelona side that has dominated recent encounters. During the 2024-25 season, Los Blancos lost all four meetings against their archrivals across all competitions, including two finals (the Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup), and suffered a humiliating 0-4 defeat at the Santiago Bernabéu.

Cubarsí also recalled the 5-2 win in the Supercopa but emphasized that the locker room is staying grounded despite fan excitement: “We want to play a good game and take all three points. The fans enjoy the ‘manita,’ but we’re calm. We want to score as many goals as possible while keeping a clean sheet.”