Six Real Madrid stars to face former clubs in UEFA Champions League this season | OneFootball

The Champions League always brings storylines beyond the football itself, and for Real Madrid, this season’s league phase has delivered several personal reunions.

When the draw was made, Madrid landed in a group that not only tests their competitive strength but also stirs up nostalgia for some of their stars.

One of the standout fixtures will be Trent Alexander-Arnold’s return to Anfield.

Having swapped Merseyside for Madrid this summer, the England international will now walk out in front of the Kop wearing white, a sight that will feel strange both for him and the supporters who once adored him.

Brahim Diaz also faces a special night when Madrid take on Manchester City.

The Spanish playmaker left City as a youngster, and now returns as an established first-team player determined to show how far he has come since his days in the academy.

More reunions on the card

In Italy, Dean Huijsen’s reunion with Juventus is bound to attract attention.

Aurelien Tchouameni will face his former side Monaco. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)

The young defender was nurtured in Turin before moving on to Roma and Bournemouth, and now he has the chance to test himself against the side that shaped his early career.

Meanwhile, Alvaro Carreras will square off against Benfica, the club where he spent an important spell in his development.

For him, it will be more than a contest, as it will be a reminder of the stepping stones that paved his way to Madrid.

Perhaps the most eye-catching reunion is with Monaco, as both Aurelien Tchouameni and Kylian Mbappe know the team well.

Although it has been a long time since they left the Ligue 1 side, they will now face Monaco not as rising prospects but as Galacticos carrying Madrid’s European ambitions.

For all these players, the Champions League offers more than nostalgia. Each reunion tells the same story that Real Madrid do not just sign footballers, they elevate them.

And as this campaign unfolds, those returns will serve as powerful reminders of why the path of greatness so often leads to the Santiago Bernabeu.