News Focus
- Florentino Pérez defends his choice to hire Xabi Alonso despite sacking him months later
- The Real Madrid president blames the Club World Cup for disrupting pre-season preparations
- José Mourinho has emerged as the leading candidate to replace current boss Álvaro Arbeloa
- The club has failed to win any major silverware for two consecutive seasons
- Pérez denies dressing room unrest despite recent fines for Aurélien Tchouaméni and Federico Valverde
Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez has stood by his decisions during the last 12 months. The club has used three different managers during this turbulent period. A fourth change could happen this summer if Álvaro Arbeloa leaves his position.
On Tuesday evening, Pérez held a surprise press meeting. He protected himself against what he called a “campaign against Real Madrid and myself”. However, he would not answer questions about how the team has played during the last two seasons. The Spanish giants have now spent two years without lifting any major trophy.
Last summer, most supporters agreed with Pérez when he chose Alonso to replace Carlo Ancelotti. At that time, it looked like the perfect decision. After the media event, he spoke to La Sexta television. A journalist asked him if hiring the former Liverpool midfielder was an error.
“No. The situation caused the problem,” he replied. He explained that the Club World Cup meant the squad did not have a proper pre-season training period. “Without a pre-season, players suffer physically. We believed changing the manager would fix things, but the improvement did not last long. Soon, the team collapsed again,” Diario AS reported him saying.
The top candidate to take Arbeloa’s job is José Mourinho. The Portuguese coach currently manages Benfica. Reports suggest Pérez wants him back at the Santiago Bernabéu and talks are already happening. “I respect all coaches. Mourinho worked here before and he made us more competitive. After he left, we won six Champions League titles in ten years,” Pérez stated.
Sources say Mourinho is the preferred option because he can control the dressing room. The squad has shown bad discipline recently. However, Pérez insisted there are no problems between the players. “That is not true. The players have excellent relationships. Arguments during training happen constantly at every club. But other teams do not face the bad faith of this organised campaign against us,” he argued.
On Tuesday, Pérez said that during his 26 years as president, players have fought with each other every single year. Despite this claim, the club recently fined both Aurélien Tchouaméni and Federico Valverde after a disciplinary hearing.