Real Madrid have the worst defense of any top club in world football right now, as they came into the season with a shorthanded back line after an inexcusably poor summer window that only the most shameless of Florentino Perez fanboys could have justified.
And as literally everyone with a healthy amount of skepticism, perhaps even Carlo Ancelotti himself, could have predicted, Real Madrid are in crisis mode defensively after more injuries ravaged their back line.
First, it was Dani Carvajal who exited the season with a torn ACL, and, now, Real Madrid are without their best center back after Eder Militao tore his ACL against Osasuna.
Real Madrid only have one healthy senior center back in Antonio Rudiger, they have no senior right backs, and their left back situation is simply untenable at the elite level.
This past summer, Real Madrid had the opportunity to sign phenom Leny Yoro, but they lost out on the Lille star after the club forced Yoro into a transfer – and Manchester United were willing to blow 60 million euros on an impending free agent.
But Real Madrid could have signed another great young defender with even more versatility and ball-playing ability at a cheaper price. It’s just that they cheaped out, again, and chose not to sign him.
Top insider Fabrizio Romano revealed on his YouTube channel that Real Madrid were set to compete with Arsenal for Bologna star center back and left back Riccardo Calafiori, but they ultimately passed on the Euro 2024 superstar because they thought he was too expensive.
Keep in mind that Calafiori was the best defender in Serie A last season and is only 22 years old. Arsenal ended up paying just 45 million euros, which, funnily enough, is less than what Real Madrid paid for Ferland Mendy in 2019, a player significantly inferior to Calafiori.
Basically, the mighty Real Madrid, fresh off winning the Champions League, lost to Arsenal in the transfer market because they couldn’t be bothered to pay market value for the best all-around defensive player on the market.
They missed out on a better left back than Mendy and a better center back than Rudiger because they didn’t want to spend less money than what Mendy originally cost the club five years ago.
It’s awful business from Florentino Perez, and Real Madrid are suffering for it. This club needs to be more accountable at a leadership level for poor decisions, and now that clubs like Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Liverpool are recovering, Real are getting exposed at the highest level for their poor squad planning, reminiscent of Perez’s worst days in the Galacticos era.
