Real Madrid is the best-run club in world football. They are consecutive winners, with 6 Champions League titles in the last 11 seasons. In addition, the trophy cabinet at Bernabeu also has 36 La Liga titles and countless other noble titles.
Los Blancos have defined the top achievement for decades and maintained that success in this challenging era of the 21st century. It is the era of super-rich investors and state-sponsored super clubs.
Under the wise management of President Florentino Perez and General Director Jose Angel Sanchez, Real have built a team with a combination of rising stars: Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe, Federico Valverde, Eduardo Camavinga... They have done so while continuing to make a profit, even when their income was most severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Over the past 5 years, they have been able to build a modern Euro1 billion stadium right in the center of the Spanish capital without affecting success on the pitch. The "White Vultures" are reducing disruption to fans by keeping the same construction site. This is in contrast to Barcelona, when the Blaugrana temporarily moved from Camp Nou to Montjuic while having to take on a long-term debt.
However, this season, Real Madrid's reputation for near-perfect management has been affected. On the pitch, the team struggled. They are six points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona and 18th out of 36 teams in the Champions League. The integration of the long-awaited Mbappe star was not smooth, with criticism for his modest goalscoring ability and spreading to the whole team.
The squad building has been carefully considered, with the injury crisis causing them to lack defense and midfield. And speaking about the construction, the new Bernabeu's position as an entertainment center is also questioned. Noise concerns have forced the club to postpone concerts at the venue until mid-2025.
Internationally, Real Madrid's decision to boycott the 2024 Ballon d'Or award ceremony last month, when Vinicius missed out on the men's award, caused confusion. And in that context, there is an unresolved standoff with UEFA over the delayed Super League project.
Supervised by Perez, the initial launch of the tournament and its cancellation were considered a public relations disaster. However, they have also received some court support since then.
Perez is expected to mention all of these topics in his speech to members of Real Madrid's annual general meeting (AGM) next Sunday. There are also suggestions that he will present proposals to change the club's membership-based ownership structure.
The combined impact of both on and off the pitch has left Real Madrid vulnerable and unstable in a way they are not used to.
