Pau Quesada says Real Madrid are undervalued after 2-2 Bayern Munich draw

Real MadridReal MadridLaLiga · Spain coach Pau Quesada said his team "aren't valued enough" after a 2-2 Women's Champions League draw away to Bayern Munich, in remarks published on 28 October. Quesada tied that assessment to the standard set by BarcelonaBarcelonaLaLiga · Spain, describing the Catalan club as Real Madrid's "worst enemy".

2025/26

Season 2025/26

What Quesada said

The coach's complaint was about how his side is measured, not about the result itself. He argued that Real Madrid do not receive the credit their performances warrant, and he located the reason in the comparison that follows his team around. Barcelona, in his framing, are both the reference point and the problem.

His wording was blunt: Barcelona are Real Madrid's "worst enemy". The phrase does two things at once. It concedes the scale of the rival while suggesting that the yardstick being applied to his own players belongs to somebody else.

Barcelona as the benchmark

Ank Kumar · CC BY-SA 4.0

This is a claim about perception rather than points, and it is hard to settle. Judgements about a team can be built on league position, on European results, on the style of play or on how often it wins the matches that decide trophies. Quesada did not spell out which of those measures he thinks are being used unfairly against Real Madrid.

What the argument does establish is that a coach at a major club believes the noise around his team is shaped by a rival's achievements. That is a common way for a manager to shield players from criticism and to set expectations on his own terms, and it is worth reading as a deliberate public position rather than an offhand remark.

The draw in Munich

Ank Kumar · CC BY-SA 4.0

The result that prompted the comments was a point apiece in Munich, with Real Madrid drawing 2-2 away from home in Europe. Quesada's remarks did not cover the details of the match: how the goals arrived, who scored them, or where the point leaves his side in the competition.

An away draw against Bayern Munich is the kind of result that can be read two ways, as a point gained or two dropped. Quesada chose neither reading in public. He moved the conversation instead to how his team is talked about, which keeps the focus off the scoreline.

What is not yet known

• Which specific measures or comparisons Quesada believes understate Real Madrid's level.
• Whether the club shares the coach's assessment, and whether it will say so publicly.
• When Quesada will next speak and whether he intends to expand on the remarks.

What happens next

The argument will be settled over a season rather than a single night in Munich. Real Madrid's standing in the Women's Champions League, and the way that standing is described, depend on results still to come. For now the coach has put a marker down: he believes his team is being judged against a rival's record rather than its own.