Are Real Madrid a ‘business’ club? Ronaldo’s comments are partly justified.

Real Madrid’s ethos, and history with their legends

If I ask you the footballing philosophy of Barcelona, you would say tiki-taka. For Atletico, you would say defensive football relying on counter-attacks. However, when it comes to Real Madrid, the only footballing philosophy that this club has known is to win. They can win by playing possession football or counter-attacking football or defensive football. The style doesn’t matter, the mode of victory doesn’t matter. The club always strives to win at all cost and be the absolute best in the world.

This kind of obsession with being the best comes with certain consequences.

All players age, even Galacticos. And that’s where the club has followed a consistent pattern. They don’t take too kindly to players above a certain age in terms of value/term of the contracts.

Iker Casillas, or San Iker as he is fondly known, was 34 when he was literally forced out of Real Madrid. The fans turned on him too and demanded his departure. The most ardent servant of Real Madrid, an academy player, was sent off without even a farewell and was forced to call his own press conference to announce his departure. That will forever remain a black letter day in the history of this glorious club. Casillas later said that he had become an object of ridicule at Real Madrid, leaving helped him breathe again and live more peacefully. His family said that Perez ‘vilified’ him.

Another Madrid legend & Castilla product, Raul, left when there was 1 year left on his contract. Even Raul, who many Spanish Madridistas consider the face of Real Madrid, did not get the send-off that he deserved. He later said that he left ‘constricted’ at Madrid. To win is an ‘obligation’ at Madrid, while at Schalke it’s more of a celebration, a party, there is more ‘gratitude’. He also said there is more ‘respect’ in Italian clubs towards their legends like Buffon, Totti etc.

Pepe, who left under similar circumstances, said that Madrid fans are not as ‘passionate’. And the team had to ‘motivate’ themselves on their own at times, while Besiktas fans are always behind them.

Do you see a pattern here? You may want to write it off by saying that all good players have to leave sometime, but these comments are far more than that. The ‘family’ comment that has riled up so many of Madrid fans actually stem from such traits.

At Real Madrid, there is no scope to fail. Bernabeu wants the best players in the world, and they don’t hold back their whistles when these stars are unable to give their best at times. They worship the players when they are on top, but it is also true that they do not support their players during their lull period. They whistle them, boo them, want them dropped and sold. And this can happen not over a course of few poor seasons, but even a few bad matches. The Bernabeu is demanding and unforgiving. Their love is conditional on performance, they do not love unconditionally.

Look at the way the fans treat their young players. If Asensio doesn’t deliver this season, they want him sold. If Vinicius doesn’t become Neymar-like in 2 years, they will want him sold too.

Alex Ferguson advised Ronaldo against going to Madrid after the 2006 World Cup; he said Ronaldo won’t get the platform/support to grow and develop at Madrid, one that United will give him. Mbappe chose to not come to Madrid at 18, he was advised that it won’t be the best place for his growth. There is too much pressure for results and too little patience for the journey at Real Madrid, more so for attacking players. Is that how a family is supposed to be?

The same obsession is shared by the Madrid media. They rip apart players, current and former, in a heartbeat. The club hierarchy has already proven its non-existent tolerance for failures. Carlo Ancelotti delivered ‘La Decima’ in his first season and was fired the next season for going trophy-less. Both Lopetegui and Benitez were fired in a few months. There is no patience for the long-term process, only current results matter for the club. Is that how a family is supposed to be?

The Madrid dressing room has been infamous for its widespread politics, camps and divisiveness. More than tactics, the coach needs to worry about the egos of the players and the preferences of the president. Players/agents go behind managers’ back to push their case with the president. The managers (barring Zidane lately) have to take into account the President’s preferences, from squad selection to preferred positions, determined by the price tag and merchandise sales of a player. Is that how a family is supposed to be?

We need to accept one hard fact. Real Madrid, at the heart of it, is a business club. It is not a place for celebrating legends or giving them elaborate farewells. They don’t follow their former players on social media, legends or not. They visibly cut out Cristiano from the UCL celebration movie, and all their ‘goals’ videos since then, while United still posts about him. It is not a place driven by emotions or loyalty, it is only driven by their obsession to be the absolute best. If, as fans, we identify with this obsession, then we should not kid ourselves by calling Real Madrid a ‘family’.

We, as Madrid fans, should ask ourselves this though – have we become so obsessed with winning that we have forgotten how to celebrate this beautiful game? Do we really enjoy Madrid’s goals and victories any more, or do we just complain that we should have won with a bigger margin? Do we really respect our players or treat them as means/objects to victories? I am not so sure anymore.