What’s Real Madrid’s secret?

I was speaking to an older United fan the other day when the final was on and he made a good point I’d never considered.
They won the first 5 European cups which undoubtedly put them ahead in terms of global popularity and they’ve remained that way ever since - but by all accounts the busby babes would’ve won the 3rd one instead of them, and a many more after. Who knows what would’ve happened if not for the air disaster
 
Wrecking ralf said:
I don’t get how they stay within FFP with the wages their players earn. That wage bill plus the signing in bonuses and transfer fees must exceed what they earn in revenue you’d think. They’ve got like 8/9 players on over 250k a week, plus the transfer and signing on fees to bring those players in. Now they’re giving Mbappe over 100mil signing on fee plus his wages which certainly won’t be under 250k a week. Or am I underestimating how much they actually bring in?
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FFP?

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The signing bonus payment is spread over 5 years for FFP purposes, besides freeing up Kroos's salary for the wage bill and halving Modric's salary.

Besides, this year Madrid is having extra income thanks to the stadium renovation, reaching an estimated total revenue of over 1 billion euros for the next season. I think you should worry more about other teams complying with FFP rather than Real Madrid.
 
Ole'sattheWheel said:
I was speaking to an older United fan the other day when the final was on and he made a good point I’d never considered.
They won the first 5 European cups which undoubtedly put them ahead in terms of global popularity and they’ve remained that way ever since - but by all accounts the busby babes would’ve won the 3rd one instead of them, and a many more after. Who knows what would’ve happened if not for the air disaster
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That's true but in every success story there is a bit of luck or break involved where the stars aligned and unplanned things go your way. We benifited from something similar when our success coinceded perfectly with the rise and globalisation of the PL helping us make fortunes by capitalising on the generated income at the time. Real also did not build their empire solely on hard work and all on their own, they had some breaks that helped get the ball rolling and I am sure you'd find similar stories behind the successes of all the great clubs. I don't think it diminishes the achievements though, but maybe put it into context to avoid the common mistake of assuming every single thing they do is worth copying as it must be why they are so successful.
 
Hound Dog said:
Well, one could say that United missed a trick there as Madrid only became looked at like this Mecca for players post the first Galactico era. Which, in turn, became possible by them throwing obscene amounts of money at players.

They had not won a single CL for 30+ years before that and there is a reason for that.

If flipping Man City can atttact some of the best players in the world and have been for 10+ years, imagine what United could have done if they were able to spend their money on players rather than on leveraging their buyout.

I am talking about the period from 15-20 years ago. Now Madrid have establishes themselves as this haven for players and it is too late now.
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City haven't gotten the biggest stars though. With the exception of Haaland, most of the top attacking star players have played in Spain. The likes of Toure, Silva and Aguero weren't really wanted by Madrid.

They're seen as the glamorous option and the climate is part of that.
 
Carolina Red said:
:lol:

It’s very true, it’s just funny.
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Well,

Doesn't always work

---- Ronaldo ----- Raul ---
Figo - Zidane - Guti - Becks
Carlos - Samuel - Helguera- Salgado
------------------Iker -------------

Was an absolute mess of a team

I watched some full games of the 2003-2004 Real Season and their tactics were mental.

Figo and Robert Carlos would overload the left, and R9 would stay completely centrally, and Raul would drift in between the lines of midfield and defense to drag CB's out of position, Salgado would overload the right hand side and Beckham would sit much deeper with those trademark crosses from the wide areas. Zidane and Guti would alternate driving the ball forward from midfield, which Zidane did far more often and Guti was asked to play the deep lying playmaker role (which he wasn't a natural at).

Defensively Becks would drift inside and Guti would be the one holding the midfield line. Only, Guti is a natural number 10, Ronaldo never tracked back, Salgado often got caught too high up the pitch, Raul couldn't track back that deep and Zidane would often be caught in the opposition side.
They would get absolutely overrun on transition plays, counter attacks, where it would be Samuel + Helguera and Beckham and sometimes Guti trying to hold back the opposition attacks.

Absolutely filthy attacking football, also absolutely filth defensive football and no control whatsoever, the games were madness :lol:

EDIT - just checked the numbers, scored most goals in La Liga. Conceeded only 3 less goals than 20th place Murcia.
 
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RG77 said:
From a fan pov;

We see a player be inconsistent and want to upgrade, even if they did great stuff for us.

You guys manage to win a game or score and are upping mediocre players as needing more time and being good actually.
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+1
 
RG77 said:
From a fan pov;

We see a player be inconsistent and want to upgrade, even if they did great stuff for us.

You guys manage to win a game or score and are upping mediocre players as needing more time and being good actually.
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Exactly. There were people who were worried when McTominay scored 2 goals to win against Brentford because of reasons you mentioned.

Some are still waiting for Rashford to be consistent.
 
One answer really: Florentino Perez. That guy is the SAF of football operations.
 
ArmaDino said:
One answer really: Florentino Perez. That guy is the SAF of football operations.
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This the correct answer. He learnt the hard way in his first presidency with the failed galacticos model and in his second presidency he really improved and streamlined his operation. He has a very small number of decision makers (director general Jose Angel Sánchez, chief scout Juni Calafat and the manager) and they seem to identity/deliberate/decide quickly in contrast to some other clubs with countless directors and heads of whatever that don't seem to be on the same page.
Another thing is the defensive solidity of this team. They've always been a good attacking team but the last couple of CL's have been built as much on their bend don't break defense. Mendy and Rudiger have been immense. And Courtois is simply the best keeper in the world bar none. It must be mortifying for the opposing team to do everything right and then have a 2 meter tall octopus standing in goal.
 


Fellow Real Madrid fans, can you elaborate on what the structure looks like there?
 
Valencia Shin Crosses said:
But my point is many other clubs want to see these players "go to a bigger club and succeed first" (seriously just look at our own transfer business and fan sentiment over young players from obscure clubs).

Madrid don't give a feck, they trust their own platform to develop the player anyways and integrate into the club culture so they'd rather pay a "high" fee for a teenager that might be unproven then wait until that youngster is now playing for Benfica/Dortmund etc. and the price tag rises to 80m+.
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And if someone doesn't work out as quickly or as good as expected they will just sell him and usually for good money. They are one of the clubs other clubs are watching to see if someone does well enough at a big club.

Often works for the buyers as well (Robben to Bayern or Ödegaard to Arsenal are success stories I think), so this business model pays off.
 
ayushreddevil9 said:


Fellow Real Madrid fans, can you elaborate on what the structure looks like there?
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Perez reading the news about who is the most exciting player and then telling Ancelotti "I got you a new player, make it work"
 
There is no secret, aside from the fact that since the advent of the modern football structure in 1950 they’ve consistently been one of the two or three richest clubs in the world, for a number of reasons.

Their competition in terms of wealth has come and gone - different clubs have competed in terms of wealth/affluence at different points, but the only constant at the top of the money/power/influence league has been madrid, bar perhaps a handful of years during the 80s.

That wealth has bought the best players, trophies, influence, a quasi-regal status from the year zero.

They’ve not needed tactical visionaries to bridge the gap to their competitors like their main competitors (cruyff/guardiola) - they’ve simply gone out and plundered the best players.

They’re the purest example in football of monarchical absolutism.
 
stefan92 said:
Perez reading the news about who is the most exciting player and then telling Ancelotti "I got you a new player, make it work"
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Nah. That's Juni Calafat the chief scout that tells Jose Angel Sánchez and he sells them to Pérez. I doubt the old man knew who Rodrygo, Vinicius or Guler were before they bought them. Mbappe is all him though.
 
ayushreddevil9 said:


Fellow Real Madrid fans, can you elaborate on what the structure looks like there?
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The board or "dino" board ( https://www.realmadrid.com/es-ES/el-club/junta-directiva ) discusses the state of football and players. In any case their opinion is not definitive (it is said that they were against Mbappe, except Florentino).
I think the ones with the most power are Florentino, José Ángel Sánchez (Ceo) and Calafat, the chief scout, who brought in the Brazilians, Valverde, Odegaard, etc.
Each of them have their advisors, very known as Zidane or Mourinho to people totally unknown to the fans.
 
Theonas said:
I don't think it's as simple as that. Real Madrid had arguably even better players in the '00s and yet they went a significant period without winning a knockout tie. But I agree that it does work better in the CL, hence Real's comparatively inferior record in the league when a more solid foundation is more likely to win consistently.
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It's more complicated, yes. The managerial hires in the 2nd Perez era (since 2009) have been much better. He's hired managers with some track record of success. In the 1st stint he thought he could give the job to anyone (Queiroz, Camacho, Luxemburgo). The players don't need an ultra-complex tactical approach but they can't manage themselves either.

The current teams are also better than the ones in the 00s. The 'mid-range' level of player is better. That's maybe not true in the team that just won (as many are quite young) but then they were lucky to play Dortmund who were going to be underdogs.
 
AfonsoAlves said:
I watched some full games of the 2003-2004 Real Season and their tactics were mental.
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The downfall for that team was injuries. It had no depth, so if ANY of those guys got injured(Ronnie), the team had no capable backup. That, combined with the advancing ages/mileage of most of them, meant by April the team was physically shattered. That XI was still very much the best in the world at their best, despite the poor organization and terrible defence
ayushreddevil9 said:
Fellow Real Madrid fans, can you elaborate on what the structure looks like there?
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it's actually the same as any other club, just with the president being the CEO
stefan92 said:
Perez reading the news about who is the most exciting player and then telling Ancelotti "I got you a new player, make it work"
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i mean it's not wrong :lol: sometimes Ancelotti will try to get ahead of it, try to convince Flo NOT to sign that exciting new player, get reassured there are no plans to, and then two days later, "SURPRISE!"
Iker Quesadillas said:
It's more complicated, yes. The managerial hires in the 2nd Perez era (since 2009) have been much better. He's hired managers with some track record of success. In the 1st stint he thought he could give the job to anyone (Queiroz, Camacho, Luxemburgo). The players don't need an ultra-complex tactical approach but they can't manage themselves either.

The current teams are also better than the ones in the 00s. The 'mid-range' level of player is better. That's maybe not true in the team that just won (as many are quite young) but then they were lucky to play Dortmund who were going to be underdogs.
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Yeah. Flo used to believe managers didn't matter. Now he knows better. Also yeah, big difference between the original galacticos and now is depth. The Galacticos model was "Zidanes y Pavones". Nowadays much greater care is put into ensuring the squad has good depth. We just pulled off a double while losing our starting GK and starting CB duo to ACL injuries, and did so while losing 2 games all season long - one of which in extra time on short rest, at that
 
perry100 said:
FFP?

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The signing bonus payment is spread over 5 years for FFP purposes, besides freeing up Kroos's salary for the wage bill and halving Modric's salary.

Besides, this year Madrid is having extra income thanks to the stadium renovation, reaching an estimated total revenue of over 1 billion euros for the next season. I think you should worry more about other teams complying with FFP rather than Real Madrid.
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Wasn’t worrying, I was querying as I wasn’t sure how it worked. But thanks for the explanation
 
Iker Quesadillas said:
It's more complicated, yes. The managerial hires in the 2nd Perez era (since 2009) have been much better. He's hired managers with some track record of success. In the 1st stint he thought he could give the job to anyone (Queiroz, Camacho, Luxemburgo). The players don't need an ultra-complex tactical approach but they can't manage themselves either.

The current teams are also better than the ones in the 00s. The 'mid-range' level of player is better. That's maybe not true in the team that just won (as many are quite young) but then they were lucky to play Dortmund who were going to be underdogs.
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Luxemburgo had quite a lot of success in the Brazilian league. Don't know much about his actual quality as a manager, but he seems to be someone that just didn't adapt/succeed rather than an unqualified no-success appointment .
 
He did, but generally speaking, top clubs don't hire managers whose only track record is in South America. It's a big leap, especially when there's no extra factor (wasn't a former RM player or anything).
 
Real Madrid are a great football club but the celebrations at their stadium where they presented their players one by one WWE style with the cup was absolute cringe. I watched this on youtube and couldn’t believe a club of their size are doing this. Do they do this for every CL win or just because it’s their 15th? I mean, a simple open top bus parade will do, doesn’t it?
 
A big club, who act like a big club. Their President doesn't mess around, and is the clear leader there. All their Club President's have a tangible presence, they make announcements and tell people, the global public, what their expectations are. This leadership filters down into the recruitment, of manager's, players.. and if you do not fit with their standards, or expectations, you have to go. You need standards and resilience. Little one-off stars mean nothing there, you get forgotten v quickly.

They are a solid, proud, impressive, well-defined, steady, massive, massive football club. Look at City. Look at Chelsea under Roman. We used to be that way, and the role of INEOS is to try and navigate our way back to that. Now look at Barca, Bayern even.. they seem to be floundering, Barca because of silly money deals that have caused them to lose focus and corporate capacity, and Bayern, who seem to want the 'perfect' manager, which is almost impossible. (Edit: Not suggesting that Bayern and Barca' have major problems... they are still heavyweights, incredible football clubs.. but they, alongside ourselves, highlight what happens when leadership make bad decisions...)
 
SATA said:
Real Madrid are a great football club but the celebrations at their stadium where they presented their players one by one WWE style with the cup was absolute cringe. I watched this on youtube and couldn’t believe a club of their size are doing this. Do they do this for every CL win or just because it’s their 15th? I mean, a simple open top bus parade will do, doesn’t it?
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Been doing it since the 2014 win I think.

I like it because it's nice that players who only contributed a little bit get to walk out "WWE style."
 
Wish United were like Real Madrid but ultimately there’s too much of a humble working class vibe about the club meanwhile Real Madrid are an aristocracy. You have people in this fanbase supporting the likes of Shaw, McTominay and Hojlund meanwhile Real Madrid barely appreciated Gareth Bale who scored in 2 Champions League finals for them. There’s levels

We had our chance in the 2000s to be bigger but we blew it in summer 09, we lost Ronaldo and Tevez and replaced them with Valencia and Michael Owen. United were a better team in 07/08 and 08/09 but Ronaldo was still wanting to go there. It really makes you think that United aren’t as big as people think outside the British Isles

Our chance to be like Madrid now is well, ultimately long gone. We’re keeping Ten Hag because he won a local cup despite that atrocity of a season he just delivered in the Premier League and Champions League. Meanwhile Madrid have sacked La Liga and CL winning managers for them
 
Special1MU said:
We had our chance in the 2000s to be bigger but we blew it in summer 09, we lost Ronaldo and Tevez and replaced them with Valencia and Michael Owen. United were a better team in 07/08 and 08/09 but Ronaldo was still wanting to go there. It really makes you think that United aren’t as big as people think outside the British Isles
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United is way bigger, but in non traditional football countries. Real Madrid (& Barcelona) are ingrained into most Spanish & Portuguese speaking countries. We all have had a representative or an idol who played for RM. Nowadays you will find more people who only support a European club and not a local one, but in the 2000s and before, if you asked a kid where they wanted to play, they would mention their club and then, probably, Real Madrid.
 
SATA said:
Real Madrid are a great football club but the celebrations at their stadium where they presented their players one by one WWE style with the cup was absolute cringe. I watched this on youtube and couldn’t believe a club of their size are doing this. Do they do this for every CL win or just because it’s their 15th? I mean, a simple open top bus parade will do, doesn’t it?
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Been doing it for a while I believe. If the players and fans love it who gives a feck, it's Madrid :lol:
 
SATA said:
Real Madrid are a great football club but the celebrations at their stadium where they presented their players one by one WWE style with the cup was absolute cringe. I watched this on youtube and couldn’t believe a club of their size are doing this. Do they do this for every CL win or just because it’s their 15th? I mean, a simple open top bus parade will do, doesn’t it?
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Spanish football is pretty melodramatic. I've seen clips of what the media is like there. When they lost to City last year, a Spanish tv programme opened up with Guti struggling to speak for about 3 minutes as the camera zoomed in to his face like he was struggling to give a eulogy.
 
Tyrion said:
Spanish football is pretty melodramatic. I've seen clips of what the media is like there. When they lost to City last year, a Spanish tv programme opened up with Guti struggling to speak for about 3 minutes as the camera zoomed in to his face like he was struggling to give a eulogy.
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That's brilliant :lol:
 
Theonas said:
That's brilliant :lol:
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It sounds like I'm joking.

Source:
During the opening three minutes of enigmatic sports show 'El Chiringuito', Guti was filmed sitting on the panel in stony silence, his face etched with visible dismay.

Hilariously, the shot continued to change, flashing Guti across multiple angles while pictures of bedraggled-looking Madrid players appeared on the big screen.

While he gathered his thoughts, dramatic music also played in the background.
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I'm pretty sure the clip of it is still somewhere online. I saw it on twitter I think
 
AfonsoAlves said:
Great, conspiracy theory time.
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What's the conspiracy?
That Real Madrid gets the most political, economical, and financial power than any other team in Europe is no secret.
Asking ourselves what Real Madrid secret is almost like Sunderland asking themselves what Man City's secret is.

That Real Madrid has a secret that goes beyond money, financial and political power. That would be the actual conspiracy
 
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Not having to fight with 7 or so other top clubs in their domestic league helps a lot.

With the size and resources they have, in the league that they are in, they are able to take a mid/long-term strategic approach. You have plenty of breathing apace when you know that even a decline almost certainly ensures you Champions League revenue and status annually.

It’s the same for Barcelona. In England, they would have fallen well below us and into midtable irrelevance by now with the percentage of decrease they have seen in recent years. They have dropped to probably little over 50% of their peak level, and managed to remain a CL club throughout that ride. When this is your floor, you’re never too far from a comeback.

Real haven’t had the same decline, but if they were in a more competitive environment things would likely be different and they would be forced into a different approach and would make different decisions.
 
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Diego_Milito said:
What's the conspiracy?
That Real Madrid gets the most political, economical, and financial power than any other team in Europe is no secret.
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Even if you take the 'political, economical, financial power' stuff as true (it is often exaggerated and 'conspiratorial' as AfonsoAlves says), Real Madrid don't have 'the most' of this. PSG quite obviously have more and yet are nowhere near as successful.
 
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