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Real Madrid is the gold standard of the footballing world at the moment having won the Champions League in each of the last three seasons. For every club around Europe, Los Blancos have become an inspiration.
However, the summer has been less than ideal for the European Champions. The departure of head coach Zinedine Zidane was only the beginning. While his successor, Julen Lopetegui was appointed in quick time, a huge controversy followed which led to the former Porto coach losing his job as Spain national team manager one prior to the start of the World Cup.
Later, the footballing world was given a huge shock as Cristiano Ronaldo left the club for Juventus. Now with only a week left for the transfer window to end, the only major signings the club has made are goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and backup right back Alvaro Odriozola. With the 31st August deadline fast approaching, Real Madrid must sign reinforcements. Here is why:
#3 La Liga Struggles
While Real Madrid has been near invincible in Europe; their domestic form has been hardly inspiring in the last few years. Over the last decade, the Liga title has only come twice to Bernabeu. In the same time arch rivals, Barcelona has been crowned League Champions seven times. Last season Real Madrid finished a remarkable 17 points behind Barcelona.
Quite clearly, there is something lacking for them when it comes to league results. Despite their performances in the Champions League, the current group of players has not shown the consistency required over a 38 game season. The need for fresh faces and new ideas is evident in order for Real Madrid to dominate again.
Despite a hattrick of Champions League wins, it is a risky situation to stick with the same set of players as it could lead to complacency. For a team which is looking to make ground in the league, the need for reinforcements in the squad is justified.
#2 Squad Depth
It was only two seasons back in 2016-17 when Real Madrid achieved the remarkable feat of winning both La Liga and the Champions League. They dominated both in Spain and Europe as they had an answer for every question thrown at them. No team on the continent could even contest the claim of being as good as them. The huge margin of victory in the European Cup semi-final vs Atletico Madrid and the final against Juventus bare testimony to that.
One thing that stood out that season was Zinedine Zidane's rotation. The Frenchman found an ideal balance in letting his players have sufficient rest without compromising on results. While the credit is the manager's for optimally rotating the squad, a major reason for him doing so was the availability of resources. In Zidane's hands was a squad brimming with quantity and quality.
Since then, except for the major loss of Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid have more or less kept hold of their preferred starting eleven. However, a lot of options on the bench have since left the squad. Last season saw the departures of striker Alvaro Morata to Chelsea, right back Danilo to Manchester City and playmaker James Rodrigues to Bayern Munich. The trend has continued this season with midfielder Mateo Kovacic leaving for Chelsea. Except for Danilo, replacements for none of these players have been bought.
Evidently, the Madrid squad has been depleted to a large extent. While the first eleven is still one of the best in Europe, the lack of back-up options is a major concern. The vacant places on the bench have filled either by returning loanees or academy players. As of now, most of them do not inspire confidence in terms of ability. The need to have a big squad in order to do well across all competitions is no rocket science and it is something Real Madrid could struggle with unless they make moves in the transfer market.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo
For any team, losing their best player is not easy to deal with. For Real Madrid, the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo is one unlike any other. The Portuguese is not like any other player; he is a five-time Ballon d'Or Winner and one of the greatest to have ever played the game. Having joined for a then World Record transfer fee in 2009, Ronaldo spent nine seasons in Madrid, where he played 438 games, scored 450 goals and was a Catalyst in two league title triumphs and four Champions League wins. His departure leaves an obvious hole that is not going to be easy to replace but one you have to attempt to.
More than anything, Real Madrid has to find a way to replace the goals that Ronaldo bought with him. For each of the last seven seasons, the former Manchester United star scored more than 40 goals in all competitions. While Karim Benzema has remained Madrid's first choice striker over the years, the main goalscoring responsibilities have been Cristiano Ronaldo's.
Last season, no player even scored half the number of goals that Ronaldo did for Real Madrid. The second highest goalscorer for the European Champions was Gareth Bale with 21 goals. With the Welshman's fitness issues, it will be hard for Lopetegui to completely rely on him. For Karim Benzema, the goals seem to have dried up over the past few years having only scored five league goals in 32 appearances last season. At this stage of his career, Marco Asensio is also not one who looks like a big goal threat. For the goal's more than anything else, it is most important that Real Madrid add some firepower to their squad.
