Crazy to think we are about two months away from the likely end to the Mbappe saga. Barcelona should be shitting their pants right now, but I think they will somehow manage to sign good players too. Still, there's no reason for Madrid not to dominate LL for the next ten years. The only thing stopping us is our latent lack of interest for the national league that occurs more often than it should.
RM have only won La Liga back to back once since 1990. That was in 2006-08. While no team has won CL back to back after rebranding in 90s except RM who three-peated. Would have won 3 out of last 5 league titles when we get it done this season. Hopefully back to back next season.
I don't think I'll ever fully forget how things looked ~August 2017, we're coming off the double, Barcelona just lost Neymar to PSG, we whipped them 5-1 in the Supercoppa, it looked like we were heading into an era of La Liga dominance...the title race was over before the new year and we finished 17 points behind them. "Lack of interest" seems to sum it up, at least with previous iterations of this team. It was like playing lowly La Liga teams like Rayo, Levante, or Real Valladolid or whatever were just beneath this team and we'd piss away points that Barcelona and their vacuum-like efficiency just hoover'd up. It's the kind of mindset that American sports teams can get away with when everyone knows the playoffs are where your season is judged - nobody will remember the Celtics winning or losing to the Bulls in the middle of December, it's completely irrelevant - but in a round robin league with no playoff format, all games have equal value and those lost points make a huge difference. My hope is that the Jude/Vini/Mbappé Madrid are more diligent about their La Liga duties. Even for us, the CL should be seen as a bonus, you can't count on winning that competition year after year.
I posted a while back and do think it's plausible that they have footage he wouldn't want the public to see. PSG is exactly the type of institution that would attempt to extort a player.
To be honest, a 100M+ loyalty bonus in the first place was insane, especially if he ends up only staying for 2 years. Logically, that loyalty bonus was tied to his renewing again, but with PSG and Mbappe I wouldn't expect logic.
Meh, I'd be more worried if Madrid actually brought in some younger defenders, TBH. You guys have a lot of age and injury along the backline. The other thing that would bother me [were I a Madrista], is what if Xabi Alonso doesn't take the job, or chooses to go to POOl, instead? I have a high regard for Carletto's tactical mind.
Flo getting swindled. Mbappe pulled a 180 on Flo leaving him looking silly, now as a result he owes PSG over €100 million in bonuses and wants Real to pay - when he could have just wound down his contract and come for free.
I like your optimism. But in my opinion we will not be dominating La Liga for an extended amount of years, not because we couldn't be bothered but because Barcelona, even with all their financial issues have a good squad already, although their coach is average. Watch them pull another lever or two and go sign a couple of stars in the next 2 summers. Maybe not in the coming summer but soon. The whole thing has been confusing to me because at one point Tebas would come out and say they need to clear 150M off the books to be able to sign and then they would go and sign Lewandowski. It's like it was dependent on Tebas' mood or whatever he was offered in return. Super shady stuff and i'm surprised a bigger stink wasn't raised about his by other teams in the league. Once we sign Mbappe there will be huge pressure on them (there already is which is why Laporta sounds so unhinged) to sign players. They have added 4 bonafide starters from their academy in the last few years. That's a huge advantage because no fees were paid and they are all underpaid at this point of their careers due to their age. If they don't fumble Yamal's development, the way they seem to be doing with Pedri they won't be too far off from being a league contender. They will come up with some unique and innovative accounting practice and be able to participate in the market, at least that's my feeling. I know some people don't rate the Spanish league but it's actually a pretty competitive league mostly due to the big 2 + Atleti. It's hard to dominate for years. What a weird situation but i am sure the media doesn't know most of the details because whenever i read this stuff it doesn't make any logical sense.
It's fun to look back at how many thought we needed to get Kounde or Cancelo.. yet those guys have been key to our triumphants against them and their downfall in CL. I mean especially Cancelo. People thought the club was irresponsible not going for him and that guy isn't even a pylon cone.. calling him one insults them.
Im not worried.We have best transfer policy from all clubs.Our financial situation is healthy.We can handle the transfers of Mbappe,Davies and either Yoro or Davies in same window.
Still good progress from "we are secretly broke and club financial report might be hoax" in recent years. I remember how pramod was adamant that 250 ME summer spending reports in 2019 was a pipe dream because "we are spending all the money for stadium roof". I hope conspiracy theorists own up to getting it wrong if we sign Mbappe, Yoro and Davies.
I doubt (and would feel sorry for) anyone here who cares about making accurate predictions. Kounde was a more than fine prospect. I get why people wanted him. I can't tell about Cancelo because I never really followed him. Not even the most optimistic predictions had Bellingham as our top scorer. If someone told me at the beginning of the season we would be opting for a doblete without half of our starting defenders, I wouldn't believe them.
We had quality depth in defense, midfield and wings. That's due to good recruitment. Some were too caught up on their narrative last summer that they started saying Brahim shouldn't be considered an attacker. Point was to show we don't have alternative if Rodrygo or Vini has injuries. Meanwhile Brahim contributed so much when Vini was out injured.
And yea, passing on 60 ME Kounde was criminal mistake according to some and Rudiger could only play in 3 CB line up apparently. Just glad our sporting department doesn't fall for such narratives. Rudger was proven at the highest level when we signed him. He has been the best CB in the world this season despite losing two of his defensive partners to ACL. Also it's important to have veteran stars who are leaders alongside young elite talents which we have done. Chelsea totally ignored that aspect in their team building though most of their big money young signings aren't elite talents either.
Chelsea get mocked on here but so many here wish our club were ran just as erratic as they are when it comes to transfers. It's just ironic that these can't miss players who would make us world's better get dunked on by RMBS perennial whipping boy Lucas lol!
Javier Tebas: "Mbappé to Real Madrid? It's a great joy, he's one of the best players in the world. I wouldn't say the best, because I'm staying with Bellingham and Vinícius. We have to be very happy, Real Madrid has been able to manage this signing despite the anxiety and… pic.twitter.com/A9XFx71vED— Madrid Universal (@MadridUniversal) April 24, 2024
Club overtook pre-pandemic revenue last season, signed an additional sponsor HP in a good deal and renovated Bernabéu started making money from non-football events. Sold Varane, Casemiro etc at the right time and majority of the signings in recent years have panned out. Doing great on and off the pitch. If we sign Mbappe, Yoro and Davies, squad is set for next decade pretty much except at RB spot.