Without any doubt, Real Madrid is one of the biggest clubs across the globe. A dream place for any football player to join. The dream itself is one of the toughest things to achieve, where not everyone reaches that mark. But we have seen many stars brought to Madrid with huge efforts and money. Real Madrid has always spent a lot of money to build a super team on the field. Luis Figo’s transfer is one of the classic examples of it. At one point, Real Madrid had so many big stars in their squad that the situation got a football term called “Galactico.”
Right now, they are having the third installment of Galactico. They have stars like Kylian Mbappe, Federico Valverde, Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Jr, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Dean Huijsen. On paper, it is one of the strongest squads right now. But in reality, they have been trophyless in the last two seasons. Sounds strange, but sadly, that is the reality. They lost the last three finals against their arch-rivals, FC Barcelona, which is the reason Madrid fans are on the verge of asking Mbappe to leave the club. There is already an online petition signed by 30 million people.
Once the most demanded player for Real Madrid, Mbappe is now becoming an issue. He is currently the top goalscorer in the Spanish League. But why is the issue concerning Mbappe and even the Galactico 3.0 project?
1. What went wrong with Galactico 3.0?
A team that won the UEFA Champions League title with Joselu was miraculous for the football world. Everyone expected that with the transfer of Mbappe, Real Madrid would become the most dangerous side on the planet. With the signing of the Frenchman, it was expected that Galactico 3.0 would rise, and no one would be able to stop them.
But things went wrong. They didn’t even win the La Liga title. With the signing of Mbappe, the striker position was filled, but the squad balance collapsed, as Vini and Mbappe had overlapping attacking roles. The team was already facing midfield issues due to the departure of Luka Modric and Toni Kroos’ retirement. They had Bellingham and Valverde to fill the gap in midfield, but things didn’t change for them.
The biggest issue at Real Madrid was deciding who would be the face of Galactico 3.0. Galactico had Zidane as his face, and Galactico 2.0 had Cristiano Ronaldo as his face. But the biggest issue right now is deciding between Bellingham, Mbappe, or Vini.
2. Why did Carlo not want Mbappe at Madrid?
Mbappe was once believed to be the missing piece of Galactico, but now reports are coming that Carlo never wanted Mbappe. Instead, he wanted Harry Kane. The arrival of Mbappe was the point when things started getting messy. From shirt numbers to playing positions, Kylian had issues with Vini. It was believed to be just a jersey number issue, but it was the beginning of something much bigger. Mbappe became the core of Real Madrid within a short time due to his goals.
But why didn’t Carlo want one of the best strikers on the planet? The reasons were not personal dislike, but concerns about squad balance.
- Defensive work rate
- Tactical overlap with Vini
- Dressing-room hierarchy
- Existing success without Mbappe
- Media circus
These were simple but effective concerns that were overlooked by Perez, just to save the €100 million fee for Harry Kane to Spurs. Somewhere in terms of goal contribution, the difference is not huge, but regarding the other concerns, things could have been better.
3. Why are we hearing about dressing-room conflicts in the media?
Real Madrid is the biggest club in the world, where everyone strives for exclusive news. Spanish sports media, especially Madrid-based outlets, have close links within the club hierarchy and staff around the dressing room. Journalists are also close to players and agents for information, resulting in even a single disagreement becoming a headline.
But the biggest reason is superstar egos. With every poor performance, things lead toward leaks to maintain personal image and commercial interests. However, the lack of leadership also sparked issues more often. The absence of senior players like Luka Modric and Toni Kroos created a gap to fill. Dani Carvajal is one of the senior players, but injuries have kept the Spanish star away from the team.
A clear lack of leadership and consecutive defeats led things to become messy for them.
Real Madrid has always had ego clashes. A squad full of stars will always have ego issues. That is usual, but the leaks are the real issue. Madrid fans are now looking towards Jose Mourinho to resolve the situation, but the question remains: how will Jose control these ego clashes?