5 people responsible for Real Madrid’s mess this season

Prolonged success is perhaps the hardest thing for a side. It is quite impossible for even the strongest of teams to continuously win trophies for a long span of time. Barcelona are perhaps the only one that could claim their supremacy for an extended period.

Real Madrid could have enjoyed the same, too. You see, three Champions League trophies in four seasons actually qualify as dominance. However, they couldn’t back it due to their poor outing in the league.

Total dominance was something the Blancos had never enjoyed in this era. So when they won the double last season, many were expecting it to be an onset of superiority for the Galacticos. However, 7 months later, the Merengues are out of the Copa del Rey and are 19 points behind league leaders Barcelona in the league.

And they have to face Paris-Saint Germain in the Champions League—the only tournament where they still exist. How did this happen? How did the supposed best club in the world fall apart like this? Here are the 5 people responsible for it.

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#5 Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano has been underwhelming this season

Well, this might hurt. It should, really. After all, he was the one whose goals made it possible for Real Madrid to win the Champions League. His contributions in the knock-outs of last year's Champions League were priceless, which is one of the main reasons why he won the Ballon d'Or for 2017.

However, ever since the new season began, he seems to be on a perpetual decline. And it was quite expected given that he will be 33 in February and can't age like wine. Someday, he had to fall prey to the fangs of time--and now seems to be that period.

These days, he doesn't ooze the goalscoring threat like he used to. He misses chances that are simple and would have hit the back of the net had he been at his peak. The Portuguese's inclusion leaves another problem: if he can't score, his contribution to the team is almost nothing as he is not really much of a creator.

#4 Toni Kroos

Kroos has been disappointing this season

If one makes a list of the best midfielders in the world, then the German's name will be on it. The former Bayern Munich man is one of the best deep-lying playmakers in the game and sets the tempo of the system with his fluent passing.

Indeed, his influence helps the flow of the game for Real Madrid. It was his crisp passing in the middle that helped Real to not only win games, but also dominate them.

However, so far this season, he has been a shadow of his former self. The German looks out of ideas and almost always passes the ball to the flanks. Indeed, it is very difficult to point out the last time he made a defence-piercing ball to the forwards. The way the Galacticos play depends on how the German performs.

And he has not been performing well this season.

#3 Florentino Perez

Perez has been under active

The president himself will not take blame, but the truth is that he should have taken matters in his own hands during the transfer window. At one point in time, the construction magnate was criticised for exerting more power than required.

For instance, the sales of Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder weren't approved by then manager Manuel Pellegrini. Indeed, even the acquisitions of Kaka and Benzema weren't done with the Chilean's approval.

Back then, Perez was overly active. Now, he is under active. The combination to be a good president is to be somewhere in the middle and Florentino Perez failed in that in the transfer market.

Had he persisted on bringing a striker and a goalkeeper, the Blancos might not have been in such a bad situation.

#2 Karim Benzema

Benzema has been Madrid's worst this season

Perhaps he is the second biggest culprit to Real Madrid's quagmire this season. He has undoubtedly been the worst player of the club this season and there seems to be no redemption for the Frenchman.

Even last season wasn't all that great for the Frenchman. Apart from that one move against Atletico Madrid in the semi-final, he was below par for most of last season as well. This was why Alvaro Morata left as he saw the clear preference for the Frenchman over him.

The fact that Benzema has lasted at the club for so long is an incredible achievement. He has been a great servant to the Blancos and, at his peak, was the best playmaking forward in the world--someone that unlocked the inner beast of Cristiano Ronaldo.

Right now, however, those playmaking skills have also faded and his ability to miss sitters has also increased exponentially. He might have scored against Leganes last night, but he missed a lot of chances too.

#1 Zinedine Zidane

His job is on the line

Let's start with what he said after losing to Leganes last night.

"I am responsible for this, I'm the coach.

"So I must find solutions. I must take on the situation. I will keep always fighting, keep working, try and look for things to make the team better. Nothing more.

"I don't regret leaving out players. Some players needed to rest. On paper this was a competitive team, then in the first half no, we did not compete."

"In the end the result is logical, as the opponent played their game and we did not," Zidane said. "I am responsible for this, it is a failure for me today."

Whatever Zidane said, I will repeat it using different words. The Madrid of last season were devastating. They could score freely, raze teams with ease and stamp their authority on games. Tactically, they were great, so bashing Zidane over tactics is a bit naive.

The Frenchman might not be the best of tacticians, but he does have a nous of his own. With time, he will only just improve. His fault, however, lies in not signing players and relying too much on his current crop.

Which mainly includes Karim Benzema.

Zidane seems to have a dangerous bias for his compatriot, something that has hurt the team. He has blind faith in his players and that has cost him significantly. As a manager, he is perhaps the man most responsible for the quandary at the club.

However, he still shouldn't be sacked, even if Madrid lose against PSG.