Six years ago, Madrid began their overhaul. It was about finding a future starting eleven to replace the legendary team that had won three Champions League titles in a row.
Los Blancos had to deal with the departure of the club’s superstars
Signing Jude Bellingham would have been the icing on the cake, the last brick in the Los Blancos‘ spectacular facelift. If the new Estadio Santiago Bernabeu is a masterpiece of engineering, the sporting work to build the squad of the future is just a little behind. Six years ago, Madrid began their overhaul. It was about finding a future starting eleven to replace the legendary team that had won three Champions League titles in a row. This team gradually parted, and it was necessary to find new players. In between, Real Madrid had to deal with the exits of Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane, the fall of Marcelo and other setbacks.
‘Old guard’
It was almost a complete overhaul of an unstoppable side that won 9 titles only between 15-16 and 17-18. Then came the added complication of a challenging market dominated by state clubs and further hampered by the pandemic to complicate things. Part of the “old guard” has indeed been revived. If at 18-19, it seemed that the squad was falling apart completely, the likes of Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Karim Benzema, Casemiro and Ramos had one purple spot to land more titles (6 from 19-20 to now). Now, with the signing of Enrick, Madrid see Bellingham as the final piece of the puzzle to complete the project for over six years. The arrival of Endrick closes the circle of a new attack on the future Real Madrid to become the successor to the historical trident Benzema-Bale-Cristiano.
Endrick is to replace Benzema
Cristiano Ronaldo left in 2018, and Vinicius arrived and is now something of a starter and one of the best players in the world, with a transfer market value that is well over €100 million. Rodrygo Goes also looks like a safe long-term bet that replaces Gareth Bale’s void. To replace Benzema, Real Madrid already have Endrick. Kylian Mbappe was plan A to lead the trident of the future, but without him, the other Brazilian would join Vinicius and Rodygo. A new attack marked an era of €150 million. Fede Valverde arrived quietly and was in danger of ‘burning out’ after an 18-19 season, but the club has always had confidence in Fede and last year, he emerged as one of the best midfielders in the world.
With Luka Modric, Casemiro and Toni Kroos still going strong, Madrid have been able to play market opportunities in the form of young talent. Thus Camavinga signed in 2021 for just over 30 million euros and Tchouameni last summer for about 80 million. The target is for Bellingham to twist the revolution with over 200 million euros of investment. Then comes the rearrangement of the centre of defence with Alaba, Militao and Rudiger, strengthening the left rear spot with Mendy and the shrewd signing of Courtois, who guarantees a safe pair of hands for ten years. All this without forgetting that Real Madrid also had to deal with changing the dugout after the departure of Zidane. Los Blancos managed to find stability through Ancelotti. The renovation is nearing completion, and Bellingham may be the last big piece in the new puzzle.