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34 La Ligas, 13 UCLs, 19 Copa Del Rays.
That’s enough to describe the club that this article is about. On the eve of their 117th anniversary, it was however one of the most unpleasant anniversaries in their history as the back-to-back-back defending champions crashed to Ajax after a 5-2 aggregate loss to the Dutch side.
At the beginning of the season, their might have perhaps expected to go trophyless because while the attention of the entire world was focused on the FIFA World Cup in Russia, Real Madrid had to deal with two major exits.
Zinedine Zidane, the former player and coach, under whom Madrid didn’t lose a single Champions League tie and led them to three consecutive crowns left the club days after their victory in Kiev. If that wasn’t enough, their all-time leading goalscorer Cristiano Ronaldo left the club and moved to Turin-based Juventus.
At that point was safe to say that Real Madrid wasn’t going to be the same without these key personnel who were instrumental in their period of sheer dominance.
Some players left behind at the club, such as Karim Benzema, Dani Ceballos, Gareth Bale, and others claimed that the void won’t be felt as much. They were perhaps feeling optimistic that the club would not miss a player that won four UEFA Champions Leagues with them and shattered scoring records season after season.
Los Blancos fans of course blamed club president Florentino Perez for not making a big money signing to the team, and easing the pressure on 18-year-old Brazilian winger Vinicius Jr, who despite his talent, would always find it an uphill task to fill Cristiano's boots.
Gareth Bale has not risen to the occasion this season, another reason that many things haven't gone Real Madrid's way. Three years ago the Welshman who was the most expensive player in the world, and cost as much as the entire Ajax squad.
Having already sacked former coach Julen Lopetegui after a terrible start to the season, it was expected that the team would witness an upturn in its fortunes at some time this season. But the team from the Spanish capital that had been in contention for three titles, six days ago, have now lost two El Clásicos and were outclassed by a young Ajax side, losing the three matches at the Santiago Bernabeu by an aggregate scoreline of 8-1.
As the team from Madrid crashes out from their favourite competition, it’s fair to say that the sun has set on one of the most dominating eras of world football in the 21st century.
But as one era ends, there is an opportunity for others to rise, who might have been waiting for this monopoly to end for a long time. Teams such as Juventus, Barcelona, PSG among others might be looking to capitalise.
So what can Real Madrid look forward to for the rest of the season. With 12 meaningless games left to play, the onus will be on the players to perform and hope that the club, especially the president, is not forced into a summer sell-off in the transfer window.
