Five years after the commitment of James Rodriguez, Real Madrid is back on the transfer market on a grand scale. With Eden Hazard comes a “Galactico”, which gives the discarded star ensemble of Zinedine Zidane an immediate quality boost. But the end of the shopping tour is not reached.
In the Spanish media landscape, they like to enjoy public surveys, especially when things are not going well at all for a big club. Then they quickly look for a culprit, someone they can point the finger at relentlessly.
In the case of Real Madrid, the Champions-League winner who fell quite roughly, it was Florentino Perez who led the way most recently. The main charge against the powerful president of the royals: He was no longer himself, he was no longer Florentino Perez.
As is well known, there were times when the powerful building contractor set out to present at least one new exceptional performer with a galactic touch and a penchant for jersey selling machines to the demanding opera public at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu summer after summer. In 2009, for example, during a transfer period with Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Karim Benzema and Xabi Alonso, Perez bought four top players for 250 million euros.
In the more recent past, however, the Madrilenean-born businessman has made a name for himself as a modest and level-headed, perhaps too old-fashioned man who prefers to devote himself to his construction projects, such as the 500 million euro modernization of the stadium, rather than focusing on the essentials, namely what happens on the grass.
The unworthy separation from record scorer Ronaldo, marked by years of personal friction, the blind trust in a squad full of rich stars and the corked season without a title and with two changes of coach put the 72-year-old in a bad light. He was not opposed by any small part of the Real fans. Until last Friday.
For the first time since the 2014 World Cup, when he had brought James Rodriguez from AS Monaco to the Spanish capital for almost 75 million euros, Perez allowed himself a finished superstar. And what a guy.
Eden Hazard, perhaps the best and most dribbling outer track player in the world today, who, with all his technical shrewdness, doesn’t turn over the lawn like the drum of a Brazilian washing machine when he’s brought down. One who, in times of self-promoters, is completely free of airs and graces, distances himself from Instagram, Fortnite and his own underwear collections. One who is simply obsessed with putting on his white jersey and filling it with glamour again under the direction of his childhood idol Zinedine Zidane.
Hazard, as the bright enthusiasm among the fans shows, is exactly the right man to bring the fire of euphoria, which was carefully ignited with the surprising comeback of the French success coach in March, to a final blaze. The perspective transfers of defensive talent Eder Miliato (21/for 50 million Euros from FC Porto) and storm jewel Luka Jovic (21/for 60 million Euros from Eintracht Frankfurt) may have earned Perez a few sympathy points even before Hazard’s arrival, but faith in the title is only now flourishing. And it may continue to thrive in the coming weeks.
The 100 million euros for the 28-year-old Belgian was certainly not the last royal investment this summer. According to unanimous media reports, the Spanish record champion is already in agreement with Ferland Mendy, the French left-back is to come from Olympique Lyon for 50 million euros.
They also want to strengthen their midfield position. Paul Pogba in particular, a Frenchman hailed by Zidane, is being traded, but the club must first sell players to make room for the expensive Manchester United man and meet the Financial Fair Plays standards. James and Gareth Bale, who have been sent back by FC Bayern, could together bring in a triple-digit million sum. Furthermore, it is unclear what will happen with players like Marcelo, Isco, Dani Ceballos, Lucas Vazquez, Mariano or the rental kickers Martin Ödegaard and Raul de Tomas.
The “Operacion Salida”, as the Spaniards call the sorting out of the cadres, has progressed only sluggishly so far. But the summer is still long. So long that parts of the Spanish press speculate that Perez could still come up with the idea of going all out on a hot iron.
We’re talking about another Frenchman, Kylian Mbappe, the 20-year-old world champion who, due to personal differences with coach Thomas Tuchel, is said to be unhappy at Paris Saint-Germain and flirt with a change. Mbappe’s words three weeks ago that he would like to develop further outside Paris if necessary, put Perez on alert.
But Mbappe is unlikely to become a royal this summer for financial reasons alone. In a recent radio interview, Perez stressed that the association could no longer afford a transfer offensive like the one in 2009 because the salary level was much higher than at that time. According to the AS, the association spends around 280 million euros per year on personnel costs.
A sum that can only be met thanks to lucrative sponsoring deals such as that with jersey supplier Adidas. From now on, the German sporting goods manufacturer will pay Real 120 instead of 40 million euros per year. Perez, it is said, is still looking intensively for a generous name sponsor for the Bernabeu Stadium.
“We have a harder time than other clubs in Europe,” Perez explained in a recent interview with radio station Onda Cero. “We don’t have an investor like Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, so we need to focus more on players who aren’t so well known.”
Players such as Militao, Jovic or the Brazilian prodigies Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo, who were already signed a year ago and who are believed to have a similar development to Mbappe. Hazard and possibly Pogba are probably only exceptions. But even an entertaining galactic renaissance makes them love Perez again in Madrid. At least they haven’t done any polls since Friday to find any scapegoats.
*According to reports, the sum can rise up to 140 million euros due to various bonus payments.
