3 reasons why Real Madrid are in deep trouble right now

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Perez needs to fix the problems at the Bernabeu.

Real Madrid have been a class apart in the last few years now. The club has won four out of the last five Champions League titles. Their strength is so huge that even the best of teams sweat, at the thought of facing them.

But all is not well at the home of the 13-time European Champions. The club parted ways with arguably one of the greatest footballers of the modern era, with no replacement in sight.

Also, the man who masterminded Real's splendid European campaigns, Zinedine Zidane had earlier vacated his post with the less heralded Julian Lopetegui taking charge.

Los Blancos have consistently shown signs of improvement and had things run more smoothly, it would have become almost impossible to stop the juggernaut.

That said, here is a look at 3 factors which put the Spanish giants in such troubled waters:


#3 Barcelona's revival

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Valverde has improved his squad massively.

Barcelona did not enjoy the best of campaigns despite winning a domestic double during the 2017-18 season. The Catalans thoroughly underperformed in the Champions league crashing out in the quarter-final stage after a heroic comeback from Roma.

The Madrid supporters rapturously enjoyed their rival's meltdown. But Barcelona have got a chance to get revenge on their greatest rivals this season. The Blaugrana will definitely have their eyes on the Champions League, after having performed poorly in the past three seasons.

Unlike Real, they have added the likes of Malcolm, Arthur and Clement Lenglet to bolster their squad. On the other hand, the European Champions are only boasting the arrivals of youngsters Vinicius Jr. and Alvaro Ordiozola into the first team squad.

Madrid's arch-rivals have worked in the areas that they lacked sorely last season. Los Blancos need to do the same or it wouldn't be long before they fall behind their arch-rivals in Europe as well.

#2 An ageing squad

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Real need to look at the future.

The Bernabeu faithful might be overlooking this fact for the time being but there is no doubt that their star players are all on the wrong side of the 30s. Real Madrid have had a sensational group of players that have brought together so much success to the club but every relationship has its honeymoon period. That period might be coming to an end now.

In Madrid's case, the players aren't getting any younger as the likes of Luka Modric (32), Marcelo (30), Sergio Ramos (32), Keylor Navas (31) and Karim Benzema (30) are all on the wrong side of the clock. Add Bale's never-ending injury issues and that's the entire core is on the pedal.

These players are definitely going to deliver for another couple of years but what after that? Manchester United faced a similar problem in the post-2013 period when several of their high-profile names walked into the sunset.

Also, since most have won everything there is to win at club level, the level of motivation won't be as high as say for a youngster who might have a breakthrough campaign.

While the market still has some genuine quality players to offer, Florentino Perez needs to start looking at the replacements for these stalwarts and build an XI for the future;

#1 Cristiano's replacement?

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Who's going to take the number 7 jersey at the club?

Perhaps the biggest transfer of the season, Cristiano Ronaldo leaving Real Madrid for Turin after a blistering nine-year spell, did raise some eyebrows as to why he would move away from the Bernabeu.

Also, read:

3 reasons why Cristiano Ronaldo's departure would be good for Real Madrid

The fans were divided over the Portuguese's departure, with some believing that the player needed to be replaced with an aspiring name while some labelled it as a mistake on part of the club.

Either way, the onus is on Real Madrid to bring in a high-profile name who can straight away fill at least a part of Ronaldo's big boots.

The potential candidates include Neymar, Mbappe and Hazard in the stated order. However, the Spanish side is nowhere close in pursuit of the former two. Eden Hazard is the only realistic hope for them as of now.

Chelsea will definitely try to take the full advantage of their prized asset. The player is keen to join the Madrid side but a deal does not appear to be happening in the next few days.

Phew! That's not Real Madrid's way. Is it? Even if they manage to sign Hazard, the player is yet to score 20 goals in a single league season. Is he the best suited for the job?

If you let Cristiano Ronaldo leave, there has to be a candidate more than just-in-a-pipeline waiting to join.

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Edited by Debjyoti Samanta