It's very rare that Real Madrid president Florentino Perez gets things wrong. However, the club's poor treatment of Angel Di Maria still stings a decade later.
Real Madrid is a club that is always thinking two steps ahead. While many of their decisions, particularly in the Florentino Perez era, are unorthodox, it often leads to great reward for Real Madrid.
So, fans often follow a "trust the process" mindset when it comes to Real Madrid. Of course, fans would rather know the thought process behind the decision-making, but they'll happily follow blind faith if it leads to great reward.
For one player, though, a decision made 10 years ago will still sting.
This one Real Madrid betrayal still stings a decade later
In 2014, Angel Di Maria was sold to Manchester United despite being one of Real Madrid's best players at the time. Fresh off the back of an incredible Champions League final showing, Di Maria was sold for no tangible reason other than... money.
Yep, that dirty word that has ruined the integrity of this sport for many years. Despite making incredible decisions relating to it, Real Madrid fans know that Florentino Perez has taken some of the magic away from the club by using risky methods.
Who knows what could have been had Real Madrid kept Angel Di Maria, rather than cashing in when they had the chance? He was well on the way to becoming a club legend after all, and he's now a World Cup winner in his own right.
Perhaps the sting of this poor transfer decision is exacerbated by his replacement, James Rodriguez at the time, who severely underperformed for Real Madrid. It was a replacement which made little sense at the time and was purely reactionary.
Still, Real Madrid learned their lesson. Rather than signing players based on short-term bursts of form, they now prefer to wait until those players become established at the top level. Take a look at Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham, for example, who were huge names before joining Real Madrid.
Watching Angel Di Maria achieve success after leaving Real Madrid is a bittersweet feeling. Real Madrid betraying him still stings to this day.