Real Madrid: It’s time to ask some tough questions about Florentino Perez
How did Florentino Perez try to replace the greatest of all time?
Cristiano Ronaldo was someone who could produce 50+ goals in a season, and a minimum of 30 goals in his worst seasons (which is a dream for many players). He was the main source of goals for Real Madrid till 2018, and he was the one for the big games. Even when he couldn’t score, his charisma was enough to terrify the opponents and motivate his teammates. But how was he replaced?
Instead of going for a proper goalscorer, the president and the board thought of relying upon Gareth Bale, a player who scores 15-20 goals per season, Marco Asensio, a player who can score 5-10 goals per season, and Isco, a creative player, who can score 5-10 goals per season. He tried to replace a 50 goal player with three players who couldn’t contribute as much as him. It took a trophyless season in which those three scored a combined total of 26 goals, to make Perez realise that he needs a proper goalscorer alongside Karim Benzema for the club to compete in all three competitions.
He understood that he had to make a big signing. He had the money to do that, but he chose to go for a creative player like Eden Hazard, who isn’t a proper goalscorer, in all honesty, and wasn’t a long term option as well. The club needed a goalscorer, but he chose to invest 100 million in a 28-year-old creative player.
Hazard’s injuries will raise even more question marks, but it would be harsh to criticise a president for a player’s injuries, that, too, for a player who was one of the fittest players in the physical Premier League. And a 2020 transfer window where he didn’t spend a single penny when the club was clearly struggling in attack is questionable. The club was struggling financially due to COVID-19 pandemic, and the club wasn’t backed by any rich businessmen from the middle-east to support them, but to focus more on sales than signings was really questionable.
One thing can be said for sure. Florentino Perez failed in his pursuit to replace Cristiano Ronaldo. Kylian Mbappe might be the perfect replacement, and Perez is preparing to bid for him, but at the moment he hasn’t replaced the greatest of all time yet.