Why Real Madrid wouldn’t have a catastrophe quite like Manchester United

Real Madrid is a football club not without its own flaws. As fans, we have seen some dark days, questionable decisions, painful losses, and moves that we haven’t necessarily agreed with. These things happen and they are part of the fan experience. However, even when things reached lower points than we were prepared to accept, we always knew that there was light at the end of the tunnel and that the people in charge would do what is required to rectify the problem.

Florentino Perez has always been ruthless and even though that carries a negative connotation, it is required when running the show and it’s necessary when you’re in charge of the biggest club in world football. This has always been the case at Real Madrid and we have seen it in full force during the past few years alone. Jose Mourinho lasted three years with the club, and he has been the longest-serving manager since 2010 other than Zinedine Zidane.

Carlo Ancelotti’s first stint at the club lasted two years while the forgettable periods of Rafael Benitez (6 months), Julen Lopetegui (3 months), and Santiago Solari (5 months) all together lasted a little over one full year. Is that to say that Real Madrid expect instant success? Yes, and that’s something they should be proud of even though there is a very valid argument to be made on whether it’s fair or not. However, that’s what perfection entails and even though Los Blancos do not always achieve perfection, they constantly strive for it, and for that to happen, tough decisions need to be made.

Let’s just put it this way: If Ole Gunnar Solksjaer was the Real Madrid manager… Well, he wouldn’t have ever been the Real Madrid manager but if the stars aligned and the Norwegian was chosen, he wouldn’t have lasted anywhere near the amount that he has with Manchester United.

Real Madrid do not accept mediocrity

That’s not a dig at the English club that rightfully stands amongst the absolute legends of European football. It’s more of a dig at the management of the team and the idea that patience is not always rewarded. There is an admiration for teams that will be patient and give time to their manager to put forth his ideas, but that patience cannot come from nowhere. It comes from the board witnessing the small changes being made, the light at the end of a very dark tunnel. It also comes from seeing results on the pitch and in the management of the squad. Neither of the latter two reasons can be put to Solksjaer and as a Real Madrid fan, we have seen managers sacked for so much less.

Since the 2010 season, the only manager who has not been sacked at Real Madrid was Zinedine Zidane, and he managed to leave on his own terms twice. The reason (other than the obvious three-peat) is because his ideas were clear, the players always responded, he commanded respect and he gave back that respect to each and every player in the team.

Surely, he had his flaws, but he had a set idea of how to achieve results and he was so sure about it that he walked away both times when the club decided on taking a different direction to the one that he believes was correct. Even in his latest season in charge at the club, Los Merengues ended with no trophies yet Perez did not sack him and that’s very simply because of respect and the fact that the French manager is a proven winner. However, when he decided to walk away, not much could be done.

Real Madrid receives a lot of criticism in regards to how they treat their managers and players sometimes with a lot of it being warranted. However, when it comes to managing the team, a lot of decisions are taken because the people in charge expect to be as close to perfection as possible. Great managers have been relieved of their duties at Real Madrid after failing to reach certain heights even though they have done so just one season earlier such as Carlo Ancelotti. Even Vicente Del Bosque was sacked after winning La Liga albeit his sacking was for different reasons.

Florentino Perez can accept a “transitional season” and he can accept that the club will not win all available trophies but he will never accept mediocracy. He expects the best from himself and in turn, the best from the club that he heads. Of course, there are flaws to this logic but that mentality has helped Real Madrid reach heights that no one ever imagined possible. He knows that Real Madrid is a force in Europe and this is a team that holds weight in the history books. Staying at the top is an extremely difficult task that requires the people in charge to ensure that all the hard decisions are made for the good of the club and no decisions are made based on emotions, such as what we currently see at Manchester United.

Why is Solksjaer still at the helm when the club is underperforming? The only possible reason at the moment is simply because the decision-makers do not want to be reactionary, especially when it comes to a manager who has cemented his name in the Manchester United history books as a player. In previous years, things were more accepted because they were building towards a goal. Now, the team is strong, many of their players are world-class and they are being directed by a manager who simply put, is not good enough.

Jose Mourinho and Louis van Gaal were sacked by Manchester United for less.

Speak about how Real Madrid’s lack of patience and their inability to give their managers time but one thing that cannot be argued is that Real Madrid will not reach a catastrophe like the one we are witnessing in Manchester.