Real Madrid’s long winter got a little bit colder when it crashed out of the Copa del Rey and said goodbye to La Liga after consecutive losses against Barcelona at home. Barca’s two wins had the added sting that they tipped the historical balance of the rivalry in favor of the Blaugranas, who now have 96 Clasico wins to Real Madrid’s 95.
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The two matches, which ended 0-3 and 0-1, were the ultimate confirmation that Real Madrid’s most urgent problem this season is its inability to generate goals. To give you an idea, Real Madrid have scored 43 goals in league this season. Barca have scored 65. And that has been the difference all year.
“Of course we miss Cristiano,” Luka Modric said. “The club wanted other players to step up, if not to score 50 goals, then 15 or 20. I will not name names but we need 20 goals from two or three players. Cristiano is not here, we cannot be asking for 10 years who will replace him. The club put their faith in other players like Gareth (Bale), Karim (Benzema) and Asensio, brought in Mariano, Vinicius is doing very well here for his age.”
“In soccer you have to be decisive and you have to score goals,” Santiago Solari said after the Copa del Rey match. “They had that. We generated a lot of chances but we didn’t score.
“We worked very hard and we had a lot of chances,” Casemiro echoed. “But if you don’t put them away they will hurt you. You have to kill the games when you can.” He then added: “We can’t talk about Cristiano because he’s no longer here.”
“We lacked goals in these Clasicos,” Sergio Ramos, the team’s captain and unofficial spokesman, succinctly summarized. “Our lack of scoring was decisive… to win games in soccer you have to score goals.”
And there’s the rub. Real Madrid let Cristiano Ronaldo and his 50 goals per season walk out the door, and thought that Gareth Bale could pick up the slack. Instead of taking a step forward and leading the attack, Bale has regressed, throwing childish tantrums such as his “up yours” celebration at the Wanda Metropolitano, and his refusal to celebrate his penalty against Levante with the rest of his teammates, going so far as to shove Lucas Vazquez away. You get the feeling that Bale is just counting the days until the summer transfer window so that he can pack his bags and go back to England, regardless of his agent’s claims to the contrary.
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With the league practically out of reach and little confidence that the team can make a fourth consecutive Champions League title run, the Copa del Rey looked like the only path to silverware this season, especially after the promising 1-1 draw at the Camp Nou in the first leg. But now that dream is over, so it’s time to look ahead to who could be the player to fill the gaping void left by Cristiano Ronaldo.
Neymar
The most obvious choice seems to be Neymar. He’s arguably the world’s second best player after Messi, and he brings with him a whole marketing apparatus that is a license to print money. Florentino Perez has shown that he is not afraid to pay exorbitant prices for players if he feels that they can generate revenue for the club off the field, and Neymar certainly fits that bill. The man is like a walking Nike ad.
On the field, Neymar has it all. He can score goals from anywhere, and has a very good record since going to Europe (100 goals in 156 matches). He also likes to be in the spotlight, and doesn’t wither away in the big moments. His performance in Barca’s insane 6-1 comeback win against PSG was unforgettable. Needing to score three more goals in the final half hour, the situation looked absolutely hopeless for Barcelona, and most of their players looked defeated. Except for Neymar. He refused to accept defeat and scored two quick goals, then delivered the assist for Barca’s sixth goal. That kind of thing is very important at Real Madrid.
However, many Madrid fans are wary of Neymar’s off-field “lifestyle.” While he was at Barca, he was frequently criticized for flying back to Brazil to party. At PSG, he seems to have extracted some pretty serious diva-like concessions. That kind of stuff just doesn’t fly at a club like Madrid, which, for all its glitz, is rather conservative at its core.
That being said, Neymar has always seemed smart enough to know when to take a step back. His ability to manage his relationship with Leo Messi at Barca was impressive. That always had the potential to be a disaster, but Neymar knew how to recognize Messi as the top dog, while carving out his own lane. It says a lot about Neymar that, in the middle of all the drama over his exit from Barca, all of his teammates there were firmly behind him. Had he really been a diva with them, they would not have supported him the way they did, especially since Barca’s fan base was outraged. Many of Barca’s most important players, including Messi, published messages of support for Neymar on social media the day the club announced that it was going to sue the Brazilian for breach of contract. If the seasoned pros at Barca aren’t bothered by Neymar, then his off-the-field stuff shouldn’t be too concerning.
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Also, Neymar can struggle with injuries. There was, of course, his famous injury at the 2014 World Cup, which became a sort of national emergency in Brazil. And, for PSG, he has missed crucial Champions League matches in each of the past two seasons through injury.
Rumors have been trickling out that Neymar is desperate to leave PSG, and one can understand why. PSG just doesn’t compare to a club like Barcelona, nor does Ligue 1 to La Liga or the Premier League, in terms of international prestige. A superstar like Neymar needs to be in the thick of the action, and that means being at one of the big two in La Liga or one of the big Premier League clubs.
There are also rumors saying Neymar is desperate to return to Barcelona, but as my colleague Kevin Williams points out, that’s pretty much impossible. There are very few clubs with the financial might to pull off what would certainly be the most expensive transfer of all time, but Real Madrid is one of them. If Neymar really wants to leave PSG, it doesn’t seem like he has much of a choice but to go to Madrid.
In a recent interview with Brazilian media, Neymar gave Madrid fans hope by leaving the door open to a potential transfer to the Bernabeu.
“Real Madrid is one of the biggest clubs in the world and any player would like to play there,” he told Esporte Espetacular. “I’m happy now in Paris, but you never know in the future.”
Kylian Mbappé
If it were up to Real Madrid fans, the club’s priority would be signing Kylian Mbappé. The French 20-year-old sensation consistently comes in first place in fan polls (as ridiculous as it sounds, Florentino Perez pays attention to this kind of thing). Mbappé is seen as less of an off-field distraction than Neymar, and there’s the added bonus that you’re buying a star for the next decade (Neymar is seven years older).
At this point, Mbappé’s talent is beyond doubt. He’s already shown that he can score goals in the Champions League and in the World Cup. Watching him play, you’re almost reminded of a young version of the original Ronaldo. If he gets a head of steam, he can score from anywhere. That pace strikes fear in the heart of a defense, and that’s something that Madrid desperately need. Right now, defenses just aren’t that scared. This year, he already has 24 goals in 21 appearances.
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The problem with Mbappé is that it would be a difficult signing. Will he do what it takes to force his way out of PSG? Does he want to do that? There haven’t been any rumors that he wants to leave. For this transfer to work, he’s going to have to publicly demand it.
Eden Hazard
Hazard would be an “easier” signing than either Neymar or Mbappé because his contract is up in the summer of 2020—meaning that if Chelsea can’t extend him, they’d be forced to sell him this summer or risk letting him walk away for free. The problem is that Chelsea have just been hit with a transfer ban for the next two windows, which means they may not be willing to sell their best player if they can’t sign anyone to replace him. However, they are appealing the decision, and there is a good chance that the penalty will be delayed during this process.
Last October, Hazard told the media that “Real Madrid is the best club in the world. I don’t want to lie today, it (playing for Real) is my dream since I was a kid.”
The problem is that Hazard isn’t as much of a scoring threat as Neymar or Mbappé. He’s only scored 20 goals in a season once in his career—he’s typically in the 13-17 goal range—and what Real Madrid desperately needs now is goals. But Hazard is one of the elite attacking players in the world, with the ability to consistently open up defenses with his dribbling and passing abilities, creating chances for others.
In a private conversation that leaked to the press several years ago, Jose Mourinho said that Hazard had the kind of talent that you can build a team around. During the last World Cup, Hazard was consistently great and managed to carry Belgium to the semifinals. But, again, he’s not a prolific goalscorer. Hazard could be the kind of star that can lift Madrid out of the malaise it’s currently in, but he would need someone to play with him who can bang in the goals consistently. And right now, there just aren’t a lot of options on the market.
The other option that is always brought up is Tottenham striker Harry Kane. His numbers in the Premier League are stellar, scoring 123 goals in 173 matches for Spurs. He’s proven that he can put up big numbers year in and year out, but he is still only 25, meaning he still has several good years ahead of him.
The problem with Kane is that he fails the “eyeball test,” which can be difficult for a player to overcome in the eyes of Real Madrid fans. He’s big, but he doesn’t look particularly fast or skilled, though he tends to surprise defenders with his ability to hold up the ball and somehow generate space for a shot or a pass. He takes an ungodly amount of shots, which is one of the secrets to his success. But do you trust Harry Kane to be a superstar at a massive global club like Real Madrid? Or is he just… good at Spurs, a club that’s happy to finish in the top four?
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Also, there is that small matter of the British “curse” abroad. One of soccer’s biggest cliches is that British players just can’t succeed abroad. Though younger players, like Jadon Sancho, are starting to disprove this theme, English players have historically struggled to adapt, for whatever reason. They rarely master the language, and it always seems like they just don’t feel comfortable. Obviously there have been exceptions—Steve McManaman learned Spanish and loved living in Madrid. Gareth Bale, however, has learned a single word of Spanish in the six years he’s been at Madrid.
Would it be harsh to assume that Kane would fail at Real Madrid simply because so many of his compatriots failed abroad? Probably. But will Madrid take that chance again?
Mauro Icardi
Inter striker Mauro Icardi has long been linked to Real Madrid. The reason why is that Icardi is sort of a dying breed in world football: the classic No. 9. Many people have nostalgic feelings for a striker who is a “pure finisher”—someone who isn’t that skilled or creative, but just has a knack for banging in the goals in whatever way possible. Someone like Gerd Müller or Hugo Sanchez. Guys who won’t wow you with crazy dribbles or defense-splitting passes, but will score goals with their thigh if they have to.
This has been an ongoing debate at Real Madrid since Karim Benzema took over the No. 9 jersey. He is the antithesis of that kind of player. He’s not a natural finisher and seems more comfortable feeding his teammates than being a voracious in-the-box poacher.
That being said, people often think they want that, but there’s a reason the “classic” No. 9 is a dying breed. It’s the same reason why you don’t often see a “classic” fullback—a dogged defender who is technically limited. These days, everyone has to be able to play. Tactics have evolved to the point where you can’t have pure specialists, like the “classic” left winger who takes his man to the byline and bangs in a cross time and time again. You need to be able to drift into various positions and link with your teammates, surprise defenses, and be more fluid than that.
Icardi’s scoring record at Inter is very good, but not great (109 goals in 179 matches). If you’re going to sign a scoring specialist who doesn’t do much else, you want a higher scoring average.
Then there are Icardi’s bizarre off-field problems, involving his wife/agent Wanda Nara. It stands to reason that such issues would only get worse at a much bigger club like Real Madrid.
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Another player that has been floating along the rumor mill is Kane’s Spurs teammate, Christian Eriksen. Like Hazard, Eriksen’s contract is up in 2020 and it doesn’t look like he’s got any intention to sign a new one. So this summer there will be a sort of Eriksen sweepstakes.
But also like Hazard, Eriksen isn’t a goalscorer. And he doesn’t have that star power that the Belgian has. He wouldn’t be the transformative player that Real Madrid needs right now. That being said, Eriksen may still be a worthwhile signing in combination with a big-name forward. At 33, Luka Modric isn’t getting any younger. And while he’s finally found his form of late, it’s getting harder and harder for him to start a season on the right foot. Eriksen would fulfill that crucial role that Modric plays in between the lines, making things happen and providing an outlet for defenders.
But at the end of the day, no one thinks Eriksen is going to take the fight to Messi. And that’s really all that matters right now. Barca have overtaken Real Madrid in Clasico victories, but from 1948 to 2004, Barca had only managed to win 14 times at the Bernabeu. Then, in 2004, Messi was promoted to the first team. Since then, Barca have won 12 out of 22 matches in Real Madrid’s stadium.
(Photo: David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images)