Football is a fickle world, an individual can have an abundance of glorious moments, glittering achievements and an unwavering reputation. However, once the tide begins to turn and there are moments of negativity, those past glories are whispered whilst the failures are roared about from atop the footballing world. As the old quote goes, “you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” That line has an even bigger impact if you’re at a club like Real Madrid.
Florentino Pérez for the longest time was the hero. Don Pérez, the man who played chess whilst everyone was still playing checkers. However, the last few years have not been so positive for the Real Madrid president. His stock has seemingly fallen somewhat in the eyes of those who adored him previously, jibes of failure from those who once lauded his successes.
As the transitional period of Real Madrid continues, it is clear Pérez is looking to sway things back in his favour. He is reportedly looking to remind the footballing world of who he is, with that in mind, here are a list of things that he must rectify to avoid repeating his recent failures.
1. Give Raphael Varane the contract he deserves:
Raphael Varane has been at Real Madrid since he was just 18 years of age, in that time he has become one of the best defenders in Europe and world champion. In a summer where Real are currently in the midst of moving on from Sergio Ramos, keeping Varane happy is imperative.
The Frenchman is currently in the final year of his contract and is reportedly seeking a new deal, whilst also exploring his options elsewhere. Losing Varane as well as Ramos would be a crushing blow for Real, a blow that Los Blancos perhaps may not be able to cope with.
Varane is still amongst the best in the world in his position, he is still only just 28 years of age and still has plenty of years in him yet. Pérez has played hardball with contracts over the years, especially with stars who simply just wanted to feel as if they were valued. In many of those negotiations, Real have seen key players depart – just ask Ronaldo and Ramos.
Beyond that, if other players are on the outside looking in, could this also be something that would put them off? Would they want to join a club where they may not get the value they feel they deserve? Pérez cannot afford to further weaken the club over a matter that is so easily fixable.