Did Florentino Perez fail Real Madrid in the summer transfer window?

The summer transfer window has reached its end and Real Madrid and their fans now know who the 25-man squad list consists of for the upcoming season (at least until January). Kylian Mbappe is still a Paris Saint-Germain player. Judging by how the last days of the window went, it’s hard to remember that Real Madrid and Florentino Perez were relatively quiet throughout most of it.

Of course, some leaks to certain media outlets were available but no movement was happening throughout the summer until the final week as Perez decided to quite literally go all-in for Kylian Mbappe.

The move was a confident one from Perez to a point where many in Spain were convinced that the Frenchman would be a Real Madrid player as Perez offered 160 million Euros before raising it to 170 million Euros (plus 10 million in bonuses) then finally going up to 200 million Euros on deadline day. It was chaotic, it was dramatic, it was messy and most of all, it was quite possibly genius. If all goes to plan, this was always a situation where Perez would win.

Hindsight is 20/20 and this is not to say that the Real Madrid President made the big-money move for Mbappe knowing that PSG were going to reject but clearly, he knew there was always that chance. The amount of money offered is usually not enough for the Frenchman who is already one of the best in the world at the age of 22. But with one year left on his contract, it was arguably a very fair offer.

In the end, though, the French club had the right to reject the offer and not negotiate with Real Madrid which is what they did. However, Perez has already planted the seed while also making two very good signings for the club – one for an urgent need and another with the future of the club in mind.

David Alaba was one of the hottest names on the market as his contract with Bayern Munich was ending and he was seeking a new challenge. With Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane both leaving the club, the purchase of Alaba is a no-brainer. Even though a contract was agreed with him before either one of our central defenders were leaving (it seemed quite clear that Ramos wasn’t going to renew at the time), bringing in a defender who can play in the center or the left and was experienced in the biggest of stages was a requirement.

David Alaba is a player who was brought in to be a starter and he was able to take his place in the starting lineup during all of Real Madrid’s games so far this season – twice as a left-back and once as a center-back.

Even though the Austrian was signed on a free transfer, there was a lot of criticism regarding his 12 million Euro per year wages. But, if he can continue on the road that he’s currently on, it’s safe to argue that this was needed to ensure that he chooses Los Blancos instead of them having to look for another defender that they will have to pay a transfer fee for. It’s impossible to deny that the signing of Alaba strengthens this club.

In the midst of the Kylian Mbappe saga with one day left before the closing of the transfer window, sudden news emerged online about Eduardo Camavinga. For about a month now, it’s been rumored that the young midfielder was on the market for a cut-price of about 30 million Euros since his contract with Stade Rennes was supposed to end next summer. Many were hoping that Real Madrid make their move but nothing ever came to fruition until late on August 30.

Perez waited until the final moment and made his move for Camavinga. He reportedly also received offers from PSG and Manchester United but refused to finalize a deal with them. Since Perez came in late and Camavinga wanted to go to Real Madrid, there wasn’t much room for negotiation and he got his man in the space of just a couple of days.

Camavinga is a massive talent and he’s only 18-years-old. He joins Real Madrid knowing that he isn’t a starter but he’s here to learn and who better to learn from that Luka Modric and Toni Kroos? Ancelotti wanted him to come this season rather than buying him and arranging a loan move with Rennes till the end of the season. So it will be very interesting to see how things play out throughout the season. In the end though, Camavinga will have a lot of time to make his mark at the club and if his past is anything to go by, he’ll be making his mark fairly soon.

The signings of David Alaba and Eduardo Camavinga plus the clarification of Perez’s intention to sign Mbappe no matter the cost or the consequences makes it seem like a fairly good transfer window for Real Madrid, but we need to take a look at the other part of this. Our departures.

Sergio Ramos was the first to officially leave the club during the summer after the contract renewal given to him was accepted too late and the club decided not to move forward with offering him another renewal since they had already finalized the signing of David Alaba. This was a very painful time for Madridistas as they lost not only a player but the captain and the heart of this club. However, Perez looked at it from a different view – we signed an experienced defender and Sergio Ramos has been suffering from injuries quite often recently which could possibly only get worse (he’s with PSG now and hasn’t played a game for them yet due to injury). That may not make it right but it definitely makes it understandable.

Afterwards, the next player to leave on a full transfer was Raphael Varane. Real Madrid lost both of their starting center-backs in the same summer which was another hit but this was taken with a lot more understanding. Varane wanted to leave in order to find a new challenge and with his contract ending next summer and with no intention of renewal from the Frenchman’s side, it was only logical to cash in on him when Manchester United came calling. Varane also made it easier by showing nothing but respect and admiration for the club and the fans during the saga.

The third and final player who made his way out of Real Madrid was Martin Odegaard. This was a player who Real Madrid signed years ago and sent him out on loan repeatedly so that he can be prepared to be part of the club’s future. After spending the last six months of last season at Arsenal, he came back to find out that he won’t be getting what he wants – assurance of playing consistently and therefore he asked to leave the club.

He could have been someone who could have taken the club forward but in the end, regardless of who you are, no one is bigger than the club and Perez’s policy has always been the same: If someone does not want to be here, then they are welcome to leave.

Those were the three full transfers from the club while Diego Altube (Fuenlabrada), Brahim Diaz (AC Milan), Victor Chust (Cadiz), Takefusa Kubo (Mallorca) and Alvaro Odriozola (Fiorentina) all were sent out on loan throughout the past couple months.

In regards to the players who have found a new home whether temporarily or permanently, it’s difficult to really criticize the club. All departures made sense to a certain extent. Having said that, Real Madrid failed to let go of some more players who are still taking up a portion of the wage bill even though they are definitely on the transfer list. Yet, no one came calling and it looks like the club may not have tried hard enough to sell most of them.

Jesus Vallejo remains at the club as a fourth choice center back after returning from his loan at Granada while Isco, Marco Asensio and Mariano Diaz all remain. Ancelotti seems willing to give Asensio a chance while changing his position to a more central role in midfield while Isco has already shown that he has something to offer yet his inconsistency will probably get the best of him throughout the season. Mariano Diaz is the third choice striker and refuses to leave the club despite all the efforts to let him leave including a potential loan move to Rayo Vallecano on deadline day which the club accepted but the player rejected.

Overall, it’s safe to say that a little more was expected from Real Madrid but this transfer window cannot be regarded as a failure. It’s true that the current squad needs some work. However, it’s difficult to change everything in one summer but Perez has shown that he’s not sitting silently and hoping for things to improve. We have finally been able to see him be proactive again and bring in his ‘business’ side to the table, which is something that we have been looking forward to for quite some time.

The work done behind the scenes and publicly this season is presumably in preparation for some big moves next summer which could see Mbappe, Erling Haaland and even Paul Pogba join the club. It definitely won’t be easy but as the months go on, things will definitely be clearer.