Real Madrid have grabbed the attention of the entire footballing world over the past two weeks, but whereas, before the season, you may have thought it would have been for record-breaking performances from an attack that is, on paper, absolutely loaded, it’s been the complete opposite.
Los Blancos are unraveling, following up a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Barcelona with an arguably even more humiliating defeat, 3-1 to AC Milan in the Champions League.
Getting smacked in El Clasico is bad enough, but 1) Real had been there before and bounced back and 2) at least Real were creating chances in the first half against Barca.
Real Madrid spend the whole week gameplanning and strategizing about fixing a broken defense, only to get ripped to shreds by Milan with more mind-bogglingly simplistic defensive errors and an attacking display that makes the world “lethargic” look like a compliment.
At the heart of Real’s 2024/25 struggles is an overarching theme, and it points to a sad reality that even Real Madrid themselves likely underrated Toni Kroos, who had as strong of a Ballon d’Or case as Vinicius Junior, Rodri, or anyone else.
His case looks even stronger in hindsight, as Real Madrid have torn apart at the seems, yielding all control in midfield with no structure, discipline, or deep playmaking as Aurelien Tchouameni has floundered his way to the transfer list without Kroos’ shadow looming over the Santiago Bernabeu.
Coming into the season, Real Madrid still seemed to have a very strong midfield on paper with Jude Bellingham, Fede Valverde, Tchouameni, Eduardo Camavinga, Luka Modric, and Dani Ceballos as options.
According to a report from MARCA’s Jose Felix Diaz, the performances of the 2024/25 season so far are making Real Madrid worried about the center midfield position, as they are now admitting that they underestimated both the impact of Kroos’ departure and the quality of their own current personnel.
Therefore, Real Madrid are now expected to look for a Kroos replacement in midfield in the summer 2025 transfer market, which, this past summer, would have been a surprise, given the optimism in the likes of Fede and Tchouameni.
Now, Fede has been brilliant and Real’s best player so far, but he is no Kroos. That is clear. The problem is that nobody else in world football looks like Kroos, and as much as MARCA is talking up Rodri as an option, it’s hard to seriously believe that the Manchester City superstar will be coming to the Santiago Bernabeu.
Real Madrid are going to have to get creative or be forced into an unorthodox signing if Juni Calafat cannot concoct the right fit for what Florentino Perez – and likely the manager replacing Carlo Ancelotti – wants.
Expect the unexpected from Real Madrid next summer, particularly in the middle of the park, if things truly start to get ugly for the Merengues during the 2024/25 season.
