FEATURES: The best team in the world have just signed the best player in the world – but will they end up repeating the mistakes of the past?
Kylian Mbappe’s move to Real Madrid was finally confirmed on Monday evening. “As a Cule, it’s not good news,” admitted Barcelona president Joan Laporta. Truth be told, it’s not good news for any of Madrid’s rivals.
Los Blancos only just claimed their sixth Champions League in 11 seasons on Saturday night – and their 15th European Cup in total. Now, they’ve added the best player in the world to a stellar squad that already features bona fide superstars such as Vinicius Jr and Jude Bellingham.
No matter what happens between now and the close of the summer transfer window, Madrid will be universally expected to retain their continental crown next season. “Sixteen is coming,” club legend Marcelo wrote on Instagram.
The Brazilian’s excitement is perfectly understandable, but instantaneous success is by no means a given. When it comes to Galacticos, there are no guarantees. Signing superstars may have eventually paid off for Madrid president Florentino Perez this time around, but the first era ended in failure.
Surprise victory
Perez appeared to have little hope of triumphing in the 2000 Madrid presidential election. No challenger had ever previously unseated an incumbent, and Lorenzo Sanz was in a seemingly strong position, having just overseen a second Champions League triumph in three seasons.
Indeed, Sanz even brought forward the election to July 2000, because he wanted to take advantage of the good will generated by the 3-0 rout of Valencia in Paris two months previously.
However, Perez prevailed for two reasons. Firstly, he promised to clear the sizeable debt that had built up on Sanz’s watch. Secondly, and far more famously, he vowed to sign Luis Figo from bitter rivals Barcelona. Remarkably, he achieved both goals.
Changing history
Perez cleverly took advantage of tension between Figo and the Blaugrana board to get the Portuguese to agree to the biggest – and most controversial – transfer in football history.
It was also one of the most significant, as it heralded the start of the first Galactico era at Madrid, with Perez pursuing a policy of signing at least one superstar every summer thereafter.
In the president’s mind, such a strategy made perfect sense. Sporting success and financial success were interconnected. The more great players you have, the more you win. The more you win, the more money you make. The more money you make, the more great players you can buy.
It was, in Perez’s eyes, a self-sustaining cycle – and it worked… for a while.
Glory turns to failure
Madrid won La Liga in Figo’s first season. They lifted the Champions League trophy the following year thanks to an iconic winning goal from Zinedine Zidane, who took Figo’s transfer record when he arrived from Juventus. After firing Brazil to World Cup glory in 2002, Ronaldo then top-scored as Madrid won another Spanish title.
However, 2003 signalled the beginning of the end of Perez’s presidency. From a purely economic perspective, he pulled off his most significant signing yet by signing David Beckham from under the noses of Barcelona. It was a colossal commercial coup.
Madrid had landed the most famous face in sport for “peanuts”, and the Englishman immediately opened up new markets for the club. The club’s pre-season tour of Asia quickly became the stuff of legend as fans flocked to get a glimpse of Beckham & Co. Even legendary Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson was starstruck by the Galacticos. “It is the strongest squad I have ever seen in terms of names,” he said at the time.
However, Perez’s project collapsed because he removed some of its foundations and he stood down as president in 2006, with Madrid having failed to win a major honour for the preceding three years – their worst trophy drought since 1953.
His ‘Zidanes and Pavones’ strategy had proven a disaster, as the young players that Madrid put their faith in simply weren’t of the standard required, while Perez had clearly become too preoccupied with assembling stars for commercial gain than constructing a winning team. Big names continued to arrive, such as Michael Owen and Robinho, but there just wasn’t enough room for all of them.
The Makelele role
The humble Vincente Del Bosque was foolishly fired as coach, while defensive midfielder Claude Makelele was stupidly sold to Chelsea for having the temerity to ask for a pay rise as a form of compensation for the fact that he was often left doing the work of five players.
“He wasn’t a header of the ball and he rarely passed the ball more than three metres,” Perez infamously stated. “Younger players will arrive who will cause Makelele to be forgotten.”
Makelele was never forgotten, though, as he became the symbol of Perez’s folly. Without anyone protecting the back four, Madrid began to disintegrate – and Carlos Queiroz, Del Bosque’s ill-advised replacement, proved utterly incapable of salvaging the situation.
“We didn’t make a mistake not renewing Del Bosque, but we did in hiring Queiroz,” Perez said, still failing to fully see the error of his ways.
Lessons learned
Still, lessons were undeniably learned from the failings of the first Galatico era. When Perez returned as president, he still spent big, breaking the transfer record twice in the summer of 2009 to sign Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo. However, he also brought in Xabi Alonso during that same window to manage the midfield. Sami Khedira arrived the following year.
Of course, Lionel Messi’s Barcelona were the dominant force in world football at the time, but Madrid slowly but surely re-established themselves as the kings of continental competition thanks to a succession of successful signings in every department: Raphael Varane, Dani Carvajal, Casemiro, Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Isco and Gareth Bale.
There is, thus, every reason to believe that the third era of Perez’s Galacticos will avoid the mistakes of the first, and thus continue the success of the second.
The next stage
Mbappe obviously has a massive ego. He grew bigger than Paris Saint-Germain – and he knew it, so he effectively did whatever he wanted at the Parc des Princes.
There are also concerns over exactly where he fits into Madrid’s starting line-up. His arrival wasn’t exactly essential. In Vinicius, Madrid already have one world-class left winger. Now they have two, evoking memories of Perez’s bizarre decision to bring in Beckham when he already had Figo for the right flank.
However, it is in both Mbappe’s best interests to make this work, so we’re unlikely to see the same sort of petulance we witnessed in Paris. He can’t really afford to rock the boat at Real. After all, he needs Madrid to win the Champions League – not the other way around.
It’s, therefore, likely that he’ll continue with the charm offensive that started years ago, talking constantly about the realisation of a childhood dream, and playing wherever the coach wants.
Besides, the word is that Vinicius and Bellingham are already looking forward to lining up alongside Mbappe – although whether Rodrygo is quite so excited is another matter altogether, given the obvious threat to his starting spot. Remember, another budding Brazilian superstar, Endrick, is on his way from Palmeiras too, meaning Madrid will be overflowing with attacking talent next term.
Still, while there will obviously be tricky tactical and interpersonal problems to resolve, who better than Carlo Ancelotti to figure it all out? He’s Perez’s present-day equivalent of Del Bosque – only this time around he has no intention of disrupting the delicate dressing-room harmony by ditching such a calming presence.
Perez also now fully appreciates the importance of solid foundations, which is why he’s spent the past few seasons signing young midfielders such as Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga. The word is that Lille’s teenage defender Leny Yoro could also arrive before the start of next season.
Perez, then, is perfectly placed to usher in a new era of success at the Santiago Bernabeu, built around the combined brilliance of Mbappe, Bellingham and Vinicius – which really isn’t good news for Barcelona and the rest of Real’s rivals, but represents a thrilling thought for Madrid supporters everywhere.
Goal.com
