Good post but if Bale continues to be injury prone (I hope not), where will they get the goals from? I don't expect Benzema to suddenly step up and score 30 goals a season as his reduced goal output is more due to him missing plenty of easy chances. Vinicius is not ready to be a first-teamer yet. So all the pressure falls on Asensio to fill the gap. They are still short of one top attacker I feel. Hazard would be perfect but the move looks unlikely with the EPL window shut.
Real Madrid need to get ready for a terrible season | It’s happening
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik and Imran hold a long overdue conversation about United's awful league form with 1 win in 7. They discuss a disappointing draw at Bournemouth, a not so disappointing draw against Liverpool and a crushing defeat at Chelsea - Is time nearly over for Erik Ten Hag?
Then in a special second half of the pod, Nik welcomes Natalie ( https://twitter.com/natalie_17) to discuss the fortunes of Manchester United Women as they booked a place in the FA Cup Final after a historic first ever win vs. Chelsea.
That’s what they said, I don’t believe it just like the Ronaldo statement after he left was obviously nonsense. I think Zidane left because his view for the next few years was completely opposite to Perez’s. Zidane was always going to stand by those players.
Why would Zidane not believe he could get a successful season with a squad that he won 3 CLs in a row with? A couple of smart buys, they’d inject a bit of fresh blood in the team and be good to go.
Modric wants to leave, several different very reliable sources reporting it. Inter might not have the money or now that Kovacic left Perez might even not allow it to happen but it’s clear he wants to leave. Being the best midfielder in the world and earning less than Witsel will do that to a player.
Two aspects:
In my opinion Florentino is doing tremendous work, he shows he has learned from his mistakes the first time around, he isn't playing the transfer markets game but doing shrewd business and he doesn't fall into the traps set by the Spanish sports media. I fear his exit way more than that of any player or coach as the turmoil of the Calderon years and the stream of Barca presidents going to prison show how much we enjoy stability right now - although some might not be able to appreciate it.
As far as the striker situation goes: Bringing in a star makes no sense as he would have to play and the prices are through the roof. My favourite was Cavani but with PSG apparently wanting 120 Mio for him I'm glad we said "no thanks". Yes, CR scored a lot of goals but I don't think it's impossible for others to step up. First of all because there are now goals to be had by penalties and free kicks for others, Bale is experiencing his longest streak without injury during all his years at RM, Asensio will score considerably more if he is a regular starter and if Benzema scores a couple more than last season it should be enough. I still vividly remember all of Ronaldo's misses in the first half of last season where he more or less single handedly gifted the league to Barca in October (and all that after his stupid red card in the supercopa and the suspension). If you want to see why I think it was great to get rid of him now look at the World Cup. He can still have World Class games but his performances fluctuate extremely. For 100 minutes (90 vs Spain and 10 vs Morocco) he was the star of the tournament, but after that he was a non-factor, even missing a penalty vs Iran. And that's pretty much how his last season for us looked like.
And if against my expectations the season is a failure, then there are at least no second thoughts about a clearout and if players like Isco, Asensio or Bale are good enough to carry the torch or if Kroos, Modric or Ramos are over the hill. Then the club knows what they have to do. I'm looking forward to what the players can do without the looming figure of Ronaldo overshadowing everything because no one really knows - and that's the intrigue of the season.
Zidane was the main reason why players like Morata and James left last summer and only young guys like Theo, Ceballos and Llorente were brought in. For all his merits he had weaknesses, too, and he just wasn't able to make changes to the old guard, the players that had given him the titles. He was falling in the same trap that Florentino fell into with the original Galacticos when he just couldn't bring himself to change the guard. Had Zidane stayed on this summer would have seen the exit without any doubt of Bale and probably Isco, too. For the long-term well being of the club this is the best that could have happened because Zidane's and Ronaldo's exits bring about the generational change that's necessary. And even Modric has only one or two seasons left at this level so they should hold on this summer and maybe tell him or give him an exit clause for close to 100 Mio for next summer...
In my opinion Florentino is doing tremendous work, he shows he has learned from his mistakes the first time around, he isn't playing the transfer markets game but doing shrewd business and he doesn't fall into the traps set by the Spanish sports media. I fear his exit way more than that of any player or coach as the turmoil of the Calderon years and the stream of Barca presidents going to prison show how much we enjoy stability right now - although some might not be able to appreciate it.
As far as the striker situation goes: Bringing in a star makes no sense as he would have to play and the prices are through the roof. My favourite was Cavani but with PSG apparently wanting 120 Mio for him I'm glad we said "no thanks". Yes, CR scored a lot of goals but I don't think it's impossible for others to step up. First of all because there are now goals to be had by penalties and free kicks for others, Bale is experiencing his longest streak without injury during all his years at RM, Asensio will score considerably more if he is a regular starter and if Benzema scores a couple more than last season it should be enough. I still vividly remember all of Ronaldo's misses in the first half of last season where he more or less single handedly gifted the league to Barca in October (and all that after his stupid red card in the supercopa and the suspension). If you want to see why I think it was great to get rid of him now look at the World Cup. He can still have World Class games but his performances fluctuate extremely. For 100 minutes (90 vs Spain and 10 vs Morocco) he was the star of the tournament, but after that he was a non-factor, even missing a penalty vs Iran. And that's pretty much how his last season for us looked like.
And if against my expectations the season is a failure, then there are at least no second thoughts about a clearout and if players like Isco, Asensio or Bale are good enough to carry the torch or if Kroos, Modric or Ramos are over the hill. Then the club knows what they have to do. I'm looking forward to what the players can do without the looming figure of Ronaldo overshadowing everything because no one really knows - and that's the intrigue of the season.
The transfer policy is one of the best in the world. Marcelo, Varane, Ramos or Benzema also arrived very young, in the same circumstances as Ceballos, Vallejo or Valverde.
It is the policy that many fans had asked for years, invest in young people, take care of Valdebebas, and not fall into the madness of the market if it is not to sign the best.
It really gives vertigo and can be difficult to accept in the short term but it's certainly not a bad policy.
On killing the options of winning the fourth...I think that the cycle is clearly over.
Nobody demanded Cristiano to leave, he left by his own will.
Pride, fear of losing prominence, a new challenge ... or the flat rate of 100,000 euros in Italy, who knows.
I love Modric but I'm not sure about offering him 10 million net for four years, and that's why I think it's understandable that he wants to leave, because he knows we've been talking about Modric's replacement for a year.
and will not play at Madrid with 36 years.
Right now we could sell Vinicius / Rodrygo for 80 million each, and even if they are Robinhos, we can recover the investment. Odriozola is a great substitute for Carvajal (or maybe starter after watching Carvajal), and Courtois, one of the best goalkeepers for 35 million euros.
I think a striker is needed, but I do not think things are that bad.
The transfer policy hasn’t been the same recently as it was when those players were signed. There has to be the right balance and recently that hasn’t happened.
When you’re paying Ronaldo less than what griezmann gets and less to Modric than what Witsel gets you’re begging them to leave. The cycle is over because Perez decided it was over, it didn’t need to be over and with more investment in that generation and less investiment in the future it would have easily been done without compromising the future. I’ve been saying the same ever since you guys failed to sign Mbappe last year, Ronaldo leaving was just a continuation of that.
They aren’t bad because your squad is still very good. Having your 2 best players and your manager wanting to leave the club after 3 CLs in a row is a disaster nevertheless.
Last year Vallejo started a CL quarterfinal and Lucas Vasquez played rightback in a CL semifinal... defensive depth was terrible and it’s just as bad now with Marcelo only having Nacho as back up. How much did Theo Hernandez cost??
Midfield needs one more player that’s ready to start, losing Kovacic isn’t a big problem, incredibly overrated player in the past couple of years but you still need a Thiago or Savic imo. Upfront, I have no idea what the plan is... rely on the so far very inconsistent Asensio to step up, pray that Bale doesn’t get injured for half the season and that Benzema remembers how to score a goal? Going into the summer needing a goalscorer only to lose Cristiano Ronaldo is a complete disaster.
After winning 4 CLs in 5 years no one believes you’ll do it again next season... how is it possible to allow that to happen? It’s just a lack of ambition I’d never thought I’d see from Real Madrid.
@Peyroteo Griezmann is 27 and Cristiano 33, in addition Cristiano was offered almost 30 million and any way he wanted to leave. In addition, he earns more than 100 million a year, I think it's more a question of "I want to be the leader without discussion" or "I'm leaving before you kick me out". Cristiano complained about lack of investment but then he wanted to "plug" Guedes, so I do not trust his assessment very much either.
It was Cristiano who said that Asensio was his heir, or Zidane who said he had the best left leg since Messi. I am delighted that they trust Asensio. Bale's thing is a risk but if we sign a forward the squad would be pretty good, instead of having a player who scores 50, we will need 5 to score 10. We can do it with Karim, Bale, Vinicius, Asensio, Lucas + the new forward.
It was Cristiano who said that Asensio was his heir, or Zidane who said he had the best left leg since Messi. I am delighted that they trust Asensio. Bale's thing is a risk but if we sign a forward the squad would be pretty good, instead of having a player who scores 50, we will need 5 to score 10. We can do it with Karim, Bale, Vinicius, Asensio, Lucas + the new forward.
The end of the generation? The only player who left is 33 years old Cristiano Ronaldo. The core of the team still remains in Ramos, Marcelo, Modric, Kroos, Varane, Carvajal, Bale, Casemiro and Isco. You're pretending that they purposely sacrificed one or two additional years of their most successful generation for.. what exactly?... when in fact they only let Cristiano go instead of giving a 33 year old striker who had two good months and needed many rests an insanely well paid contract. Again, you are cpmpletely downplaying the quality of the remaining players - who won the CL although their star player was anonymous in the five most important games. Kroos exemplarily is easily among the three best CMs in the world, probably number two behind Modric and when both are in form even this is debatable. So yeah, you're simply butt hurt that they didn't respect Cristiano enough.
This squad doesn't need anybody. The current line up is already competitive but they definitely could use a Benzema improvement. For optimization,a left winger like Hazard would also be useful so that Isco can maybe overtake Modric's position but this is almost cosmetic. I mean, after all we are talking about this team:
---------------Benzema---------
--Isco------------------------Bale- +Asensio
-----------Kroos-------Modric-----
--------------Casemiro-------
Marcelo-Ramos-Varane-Carvajal-
--------------Courtois-------------
Almost as good as it gets. Hard to find any clear improvements for every single position bar Benzema.
Bollocks it is, we must have been watching a different Real Madrid. Kroos hasn’t played like a top 3 CM in the world or anywhere near it last season, Carvajal had a shambolic season, they’re usually all over the place defensively, Casemiro has plenty of limitations, they lack depth up top and defensively... these were problems that were already there last season. They’re the 3 time CL champions, you say they have no weaknesses bar striker and no one believes they’ll win it again next season, why is that?
Ronaldo left, Zidane left, Modric wants out and their transfer policy has clearly shifted. It is the end of a generation or the end of a cycle, call it what you want.
They sacrificed a few years of this generation (which would have certainly been prolonged if it had the investment it deserved) to buy players for the next one and save up 300 million to satisfy Perez’s Neymar related wet dreams. He should have forgotten about Neymar and the 1000 youngsters, bought Hazard, a striker to compete with Benzema and then bump up the wages of the players that made winning 3 CLs in a row possible.
What do think Madrid are saying about us?
Gonçalo Guedes? That must have been chiringuito news
Ronaldo is Ronaldo, Griezmann is Griezmann. Modric is looking to leave for the same reasons Ronaldo left, those are your two best players. It simply can’t happen and I don’t care about their age, if Ronaldo scores 50 goals in a season 3 years from now noone will be surprised and noone will be surprised if Modric is still up there with the best midfielders in the world. It’s not even a matter of them deserving it due to what they’ve done for the club, it’s the wrong footballing decision.
You still have a very good squad, one of the best in the world. That’s not really the point though, the point is Perez killed off a cycle that didn’t need to be over and there’s no chance this new Madrid becomes as good.
You do not worry about age, but Madrid do. All those players are not going to be here being so old.Gonçalo Guedes? That must have been chiringuito news
Ronaldo is Ronaldo, Griezmann is Griezmann. Modric is looking to leave for the same reasons Ronaldo left, those are your two best players. It simply can’t happen and I don’t care about their age, if Ronaldo scores 50 goals in a season 3 years from now noone will be surprised and noone will be surprised if Modric is still up there with the best midfielders in the world. It’s not even a matter of them deserving it due to what they’ve done for the club, it’s the wrong footballing decision.
You still have a very good squad, one of the best in the world. That’s not really the point though, the point is Perez killed off a cycle that didn’t need to be over and there’s no chance this new Madrid becomes as good.
We already know the history, of making lifetime contracts to finished players or about to be. It is not good to fall into sentimentality.
Obviously hiring young people is a risk but seeing how the prices are it seems to me a good measure. Logically winning 4 champions in 5 years gives a lot of peace.
and why Florentino killed off a cycle? Not paying Cris what he wanted
Ronaldo’s performances flunctuate... like they do for literally everybody. Using his performance at the World Cup to justify why you wouldn’t want him is just wrong. If you want him to keep his best level all the time he’ll end the season with 100 goals rather than 50. Modric’s performances fluctuated every bit as much, both during the season and during the World Cup.
Real Madrid fans thinking it’s great to get rid of Ronaldo and blaming him for the results of the first half of the season without giving the slightest thought to all the other underperforming players is the real problem. He was just your best player. Conclusions about the quality of those players in a squad that was clearly lacking motivation after winning the double will lead to that but it’s worse when only a couple of players get judged by it.
Ronaldo (and Benzema) got the blame for that, next season there won’t be anyone to take the blame off other player’s terrible performances. If Kroos and Carvajal have another season like the one they had, they’ll actually get some criticism this time around. If Marcelo has a first half of the season like he did last season he’ll get some criticism and if the defense concedes more goals than Atleti and Barcelona put together they’ll get the blame too instead of Cristiano Ronaldo of all players being the reason why you didn’t win the league.
Good luck keeping up with PSG, the english clubs and Barcelona by doing shrewd business in the next few years. Don’t adapt to the market and you’ll be left behind. The only reason Perez’s decisions don’t get scrutiny and the lack of investment into the present of the team is not getting criticism is because the results have been good. If the results aren’t good Perez either completely changes transfer strategy or he’ll get kicked off the club. Then again, the shrewd business of spending 300 million on Neymar will be enough for the fans who have seemingly got bored of winning Champions Leagues and need some new drama to talk about and new players to support.
I really don’t understand this state of mind by Real Madrid fans where you guys almost wouldn’t even mind if you won nothing next season. I’m guessing that will change once the season kicks on.
Modric will renew and will earn as Ramos(10 net)
J.F.Díaz wrote it, so not so reliable. I´d say that will add a extra year, until 2021.Tweet
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What sentimentality? You’re talking about the best player in the world and the best midfielder in the world, not some finished players. It would be one thing to get rid of them when they’re not good enough, it’s another to let them go now. 3 year contract to both would have been more than doable, you’re the richest club or close to it. Not some club that can’t compete financially with what others are doing
By not investing in the present of the team and adding the players it needed or improving wages for Ronaldo, Modric and Marcelo. Instead he spent I don’t know how many million on young players who aren’t ready and has 300 million saved up for Neymar.
It’s not just Ronaldo, I was saying the exact same thing last season too when you missed out on Mbappe.
Winning 4 Champions Leagues in 5 years may give the club some peace but it shouldn’t. Just because you’ve won what you’ve won doesn’t mean it’s now ok to go a year without winning anything. That’s the wrong mentality to have and Real Madrid is the last club I’d expect to see that happen to.
Modric wants to go to Inter…. He just need to push Florentino and accept it.
Modric seems to be going to renew, and Marcelo has never given problems for his contract. He will not go to Juventus, if that's what you're thinking. Cristiano was offered more or less what he wanted and still he left. they are not signing simply young people, they are signing up the greatest South American and Spanish talents, which is very different.
We are rich but we can´t compete with salaries and definitely we can´t spend 100m euros in defenders or average midfielders.
You would be right if Cristiano and Modric were in the last year of the contract but that was not the case.
You preferred that we paid Cris 40 million and we left him the dressing room until he was 38 years old?
He is possibly the second best player in the club history, but let's be honest, where was he in autumn? reserving himself for the Champions? Do not you think he's running out of legs?
Paying more money to Cris does not improve our squad.
who would have you bought?
I mean we haven’t been on some high peak to fall from during the last five years or so I think the fear is we will keep going like this which no one wants
I read that Inter can not pay for the FFP, so it would be loan + compulsory purchase. If he really wants to go, they should let him, I agree, I personally do not like to retain players, if it is a matter of money He should have done otherwise.
In the first half of the season Ronaldo scored 16 goals in 22 games, that was the big Ronaldo goal drought. He had like 4 in 14 in the league and Madrid were doing like crap hence he got the blame along with Benzema. If another goalscorer was bought last summer and the defense was performing he wouldn’t need to score 30 in 22 only for Madrid to get past the CL groupstage and compete in the league.
Imo you should have bought Hazard, a striker to compete with Benzema and sold Bale to United. Should have given Modric and Ronaldo the wages they asked for too. All of that wouldn’t even be that expensive and it would put you in a much better position.
I agree about Hazard-Bale. Now we can only hope that he will be fit. Anyway I don´t know why you insist so much about the wages. I think it´s purely because he is portuguese(I understand you, I am the same with Nadal).
You know his stats very well, but about the scam to the treasury(caused by Mendes, not the club) and the nonsense of the Champions final you do not talk so much
Said this before but, it's 10/08. If Modric wanted to leave because he lacks motivations, he should have said so in late May/early June so we would've had the time to plan and go for a replacement(there is only one *I* would accept, but i'm sure Flo would not even consider him )
Now it's too late. Don't care if Modric wants to leave, he's gonna have to wait at least until January
Of course, if this is all about money, as the spanish media seem to believe, we could maybe make a serious counter-offer
)Now it's too late. Don't care if Modric wants to leave, he's gonna have to wait at least until January
Of course, if this is all about money, as the spanish media seem to believe, we could maybe make a serious counter-offer
Pogba?Said this before but, it's 10/08. If Modric wanted to leave because he lacks motivations, he should have said so in late May/early June so we would've had the time to plan and go for a replacement(there is only one *I* would accept, but i'm sure Flo would not even consider him
Now it's too late. Don't care if Modric wants to leave, he's gonna have to wait at least until January
Of course, if this is all about money, as the spanish media seem to believe, we could maybe make a serious counter-offer
I'm expecting a change of routine this season. They will fall short in CL due to absence of Ronaldo but will do well in the league, even if they don't win it, I think they will be closer to Barca.
They can still win the CL for the 4th time in a row. The squad is the same basically. Think Barça will run with the league though, if Arthur and Malcom adapt as expected and Messi plays like last season, it's a no contest.
They should bring Odegaard back now.
They should bring Odegaard back now.
Yup
Stay away from our best playerSaid this before but, it's 10/08. If Modric wanted to leave because he lacks motivations, he should have said so in late May/early June so we would've had the time to plan and go for a replacement(there is only one *I* would accept, but i'm sure Flo would not even consider him
Now it's too late. Don't care if Modric wants to leave, he's gonna have to wait at least until January
Of course, if this is all about money, as the spanish media seem to believe, we could maybe make a serious counter-offer
I would also like to see Odegaard. It seems that they have decided to keep Valverde in the team,who already had a loan in Primera. Maybe they want a Getafe / Leganés before finally incorporating him.
The press have not talked too much about him this preseason.
I knew it!.Yes,It seems really difficult.
Even if Pogba does not want to continue, he seems to be a player for Barcelona.
Raiola + price + negotiate with Manchester + the policy of saving. I would bet on opportunities, cheap, like Rabiot for example, in his last year
You've wasted him for two seasons. You don't deserve himStay away from our best player
Agree on Odegaard. Would like to see more of him
I swear if Flo allows the vile to sign him without a fight i'm going after him
and woodward He's a generational talent and really the only one good enough to replace Modric
Agree on Rabiot. He's the best we could do to replace Kovacic and offers something different from all our other options in midfield
Been reading that Lopetegui only wants Thiago or else he'll run with Ceballos/Valverde.Agree on Odegaard. Would like to see more of him
I swear if Flo allows the vile to sign him without a fight i'm going after him
He's a generational talent and really the only one good enough to replace Modric
Agree on Rabiot. He's the best we could do to replace Kovacic and offers something different from all our other options in midfield
Madrid sure is penny pinching these days. That's either one hell of a stadium refurbish or they're going after Neymar in 2019.
If Pogba really leaves I would love for him to go to PSG just for the lulz. PSG snatching Neymar and getting Mbappe ahead of the two collectives of twats in Spain was quite amusing.
PSG are also twats, but I can hardly take them serious. More like an isolated case for study and amusement.
PSG are also twats, but I can hardly take them serious. More like an isolated case for study and amusement.
With Modric looking like he wants to leave, I bet they wish they kept Kovacic now.
If he does go, I wonder who they will replace him with?
If he does go, I wonder who they will replace him with?
Hope there is substance to the Thiago rumours. But on the other hand if Pogba decides to leave next summer a bidding war between Barca, Real and PSG would probably make him the first quarter of a billion player.
well well, someone is upset because didn´t get Kovacic
Oh, Woody will remember the Morata debacle and is ready to repay the favour (actually it was a favour, but it was a pisstake at the time).well well, someone is upset because didn´t get Kovacic
No bueno!
Pogba will not leave!!!
Thiago would be a perfect replacement for Modric and someone who Lopetegui obviously knows from Spain.
Florentino is going through the city putting up "Neymar 2019" banners
But your analysis is not complete or accurate. And it is not because you:
- Take for granted Zidane left because the club decided that, and at this point we know it was him who wanted out after 3 consecutive CLs, (a very smart move as he becomes more of a legend even).
- Use Modric's agent attempts to -deservely- improve his contract as a definite conclussion he won't be at Madrid next season.
- Use last season's squad to set a point, but the same shouldn't be done with the one nowadays, because the summer transfer window isn't over yet.
- Make a strong link between Neymar joining Madrid and the team not winning the CL, being the latter the most likely outcome no matter what.
- Talk about the end of a generation when the starting elevens in the 2017 and 2018 CL finals were exactly the same, and until proven wrong, Madrid will still have 10 out of those 11 starters in its squad for the next season.
The end of a generation or the end of a cycle... it’s clearly the case even if next year your starting eleven has 10 players from last year. Clear shift from the club, starting with Lopetegui coming in for Zidane, Ronaldo leaving and the transfer strategy.
Saying Zidane and Ronaldo leaving was their own decision is accurate but also deceiving, I don’t think I need to explain you why.
I didn’t make a link with Neymar coming in and Madrid not winning the CL, I said that you gave up on being properly prepared to win a 4th Champions League in a row to save up 300+ million for Neymar. If the club had wanted to you’d be starting next season with Zidane as manager, Ronaldo up top and Hazard, Eriksen or another top attacker added to the team.