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Real Madrid is in one of the worst periods in its illustrious history. Struggling for form and consistency, the club finds itself twiddling in 9th spot on the league with a goal difference of 0 after ten matches in La Liga.
Just one victory has been recorded in the last seven matches in all competitions, and the 5-1 defeat in the El Clasico at the hands of eternal rivals Barcelona proved to be the final straw, as the club announced the sack of Julen Lopetegui just four months, and 14 matches into his tenure.
It was widely expected that Lopetegui would be relieved of his duties, as that tends to be the way with most professional clubs, and Real Madrid in particular. However, getting rid of the coach and hiring another would only be a fireman’s approach to a deep-rooted crisis.
Despite their three consecutive Champions League triumphs, there had been underlying problems in the squad which these victories concealed, and sensing the impending disaster, Zinedine Zidane chose to exit on his own terms after the UCL triumph in May rather than be disgraced out.
Florentino Perez is the president of Real Madrid, and his management style of the club means that he is central to almost all key decisions taken by the Merenguez, hence a lot of the issues currently being experienced at the club can be laid at the feet of the Construction tycoon.
Here we list four reasons why Perez is to blame for the struggles being experienced by Real Madrid at the moment
#4 His role in making Ronaldo leave the club
Ronaldo arrived Real Madrid from Manchester United as the most expensive player in history in 2009, which was the same period as when Perez returned for his second stint at the Real Madrid presidency.
Reports emanated that the 71-year-old did not take kindly to Ronaldo’s impending arrival, as it was sanctioned by his predecessor Ramon Calderon, and he was set to pull the plug on the deal but was convinced otherwise by General Secretary Jorge Valdano.
Over the next nine seasons, the pair enjoyed a less than cordial relationship, only getting by because they needed each other, and were central to the ambitions of the club.
Perez’ actions in the aftermath of Ronaldo’s tax case where the club did not come out to publicly back him, unlike Barcelona did with Messi, brought doubts about his value to the club in the mind of the Portuguese, and started to sow the seeds of discontent.
Real Madrid also showed hesitation to give Ronaldo an improved contract which would have made him on earning par with Messi and Neymar, and on his departure to Juventus, he recently revealed the true nature of his fractious relationship with Perez as the reason why left the club.
Ronaldo’s presence at Real Madrid was highly beneficial to the club, as the immense success enjoyed by the club in recent years was only possible because of his presence, and Perez’ role in not keeping him happy at the club and failing to do all in his powers to make him stay is a big reason for the struggles being experienced by the club at the moment.
#3 His failure to go all out for Ronaldo’s replacement
After Ronaldo’s departure was confirmed, Real Madrid was understandably linked with a host of big-name replacements, chief of which were Neymar, Eden Hazard, Mauro Icardi and Kylian Mbappe who had a stellar performance at the last World Cup in Russia.
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the greatest goalscorers of all time, and his goals were the main reason why the club has enjoyed the level of success it has over the last few years, so it was understandable that his departure would reduce the potency of the team’s attack as suggested by Lopetegui’s father.
With 50+ goals guaranteed every season, it is impossible to replace Ronaldo, as no other player in the world apart from Lionel Messi can guarantee such figures every year, but the onus was on Perez to sanction a high profile attacker who could help mitigate the loss of Ronaldo.
Real Madrid and Perez had over a month to seek out a replacement in the market, but they failed to do so, and only Mariano Diaz returned to the club, and this lack of attacking threat is a major reason why the club finds itself in the situation is it right now.
#2 The club’s transfer policies in recent years have been poor
Florentino Perez was elected for his first tenure as Real President in 2000 on the back of his policy to bring in one superstar each season, which was termed the galacticos. Marquee players of their generation such as Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo de Lime and David Beckham all represented the club, and despite initial success, the policy was widely considered a failure which resulted in Perez’ resignation in 2006.
He returned in 2009, and continued with that policy, bringing in the likes of Ronaldo, Kaka and Ozil to the club, but the appointment of Zinedine Zidane in 2016 halted the flow, as the Frenchman being a former galactic himself knew the dangers of an unbalanced team.
Zizou instead chose to work with what he had, and this brought about tremendous success, with the club going on to win the next three UCL titles consecutively.
However, the core of Real Madrid’s squad has aged, and after achieving so much at the top, they have started showing signs of decline in recent seasons.
Squad depth is an integral factor of success for any club, and beyond the starting eleven of Real Madrid, there is not much else to look to in terms of quality players off the bench.
Under Perez’ watch, effective game changers such as James Rodriguez, Cristiano Ronaldo and Alvaro Morata departed, and replacements were not brought in to bolster the squad, and without an adequate substitute for a floundering first eleven, any coach is bound to struggle.
#1 His track record scares off potential employees
Florentino has been in charge of Real Madrid for 14 years across his two tenures, and in those years, 12 coaches have come and gone at the Bernabeu, and of that dozen, only Zinedine Zidane left the club on his own terms, with the others effectively forced out.
The most glaring example of his trigger happy nature came at the start of the 2004/2005 season when Real Madrid shockingly had three managers coach the club in the space of three months, while Perez has also made controversial decisions such as firing Vicente Del Bosque after winning the Champions League in 2002, or fan and player favorite Carlo Ancelotti in 2015, just a season on from guiding the club to its long-awaited La Decima.
Perez’ outdated form of rulership where he serves as judge, jury and executioner in the management of the club’s affairs limits the impact coaches have on transfer targets and starting players (although Zidane’s legendary status at the club gave him a free hand), as Perez tends to put a priority over marketability rather than suitability to the coach’s demands.
These two factors must have played a role in Real Madrid being turned down in their pursuit of Zidane’s replacements such as Allegri and Pochetino, and instead had to settle for Julen Lopetegui who was not qualified for the Real Madrid job.
