A week of nonstop drama leads to one question: What’s happening at Real Madrid?

By Ben Church, CNN

(CNN) — It’s been a week to remember for Real Madrid, but for all the wrong reasons.

From player fights to bizarre news conferences, arguably the world’s biggest soccer team has been buffeted from one attention-grabbing revelation to another.

So what is happening at the club? And what can we expect to see over the coming weeks?

Firstly, it’s important to understand the context in which these controversies are popping up. Their roots are firmly planted in the fact that Real Madrid has now gone two seasons without winning a major trophy.

That might not be such a big deal for most clubs around the world, but it’s pretty much the end of the world for Madrid. Given the money paid for players and its rich history of silverware, winning trophies is the bare minimum expected of its players and failure to do so usually leads to ruthless changes in the squad.

That’s certainly been the case this year, with Xabi Alonso released from his managerial role in January after a poor start to the season. He was replaced by Madrid’s B team manager Álvaro Arbeloa, who has been unable to turn around results during his interim spell.

The season hit a new low on Sunday, with Madrid losing 2-0 to familiar foe Barcelona. The result saw Barca secure the league title right in the faces of its rival, a humiliation that has seemingly stoked the fire that was already burning in the heart of this star-studded Madrid team.

Pérez on the attack

In light of the disappointing season, Real Madrid’s club president Florentino Pérez called a news conference at late notice Tuesday. Given rumors were circling that José Mourinho was on his way back to manage the team next season, some assumed Pérez would be addressing that, looking to steady the ship after a torrid few months in the Spanish capital.

But how wrong those people were.

Instead, the normally measured Pérez, the most successful president in the club’s history, launched into an animated tirade, which set himself up as a victim of an “organized campaign” to unseat him. In an impassioned speech, he called for new club elections and urged his opponents to publicly state their desire to replace him as president.

“I want to talk about all those I believe are behind this campaign … some people are moving in the shadows to run for elections. Well, let them run,” he said, confirming he was healthy and ready to lead the club. “This is the opportunity I am giving them.”

Pérez, 79, spared few prisoners in his memorable press conference, attacking multiple targets that included journalists in the room, Barcelona and La Liga on several topics. Notably, though, he did not speak in detail about the team’s poor results and did not get drawn into questions about the possibility of Mourinho becoming manager.

“He’s been in charge of Madrid for 26 years across two spells, and this is the first time we’ve seen anything like this,” Ruairidh Barlow, editor of Football España, told CNN Sports on Wednesday.

“He turned up 18 minutes late to his own press conference. Spent 21 minutes mostly attacking the press and targeting specific journalists, getting into arguments with some of them, and did 40 minutes of questions with them, where it kind of felt more like a bar debate.

“I think the effort was to provide a little bit of a smoke screen as to the sporting failures for Real Madrid … also to challenge anyone who wants to, in his words, take power from him.

“But in essence, I think what he did was kind of show a form of weakness. Why did he come out and do this? It’s got to be because he’s feeling threatened.”

Squad division

Pérez also brushed over the incident involving Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni. The two players were involved in a training-ground fight last week, which resulted in Valverde having to be checked over in a hospital after sustaining a cut to his head.

Valverde said on social media that it was a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and that “everything has been blown out of proportion.” Tchouaméni, meanwhile, apologized for the poor example it set to fans.

But on Friday, just days before the El Clásico against Barcelona, Madrid fined both players $588,000.

It wasn’t the only reported fight from the training ground last week. Álvaro Carreras was also said to be involved in a minor incident, indicating the first-team is far from unified during these testing times.

There is then the issue with Kylian Mbappé. The Frenchman was brought to the club in 2024 to usher in a new era of dominance. However, things haven’t gone as planned so far. Madrid has failed to win a single major honor since Mbappé arrived at the club, and despite having a decent season based on statistics, there are calls from some Madrid fans to sell their star man.

In truth, the balance of the team has looked poor since his arrival, with the attacker yet to fully strike up a partnership with Madrid’s other superstar, Vinícius Júnior.

In addition, Mbappé has struggled with injury of late and missed Madrid’s match against Barcelona, citing muscle soreness. He was also recently pictured on holiday with his girlfriend as the team continued to struggle for results, optics that didn’t go down well with the club’s faithful.

Can Mourinho be the answer?

So, given the divisions across the entire club, it perhaps shouldn’t be as surprising as it is that Mourinho is being spoken about as the new Real Madrid manager.

The self-appointed “Special One” won a league title during his previous spell at the club between 2010-2013 and he certainly has the experience to deal with all the big personalities in the squad.

However, things have changed since that inital tenure.

Mourinho was widely regarded as one of the best managers in the world when he took charge of Madrid over a decade ago, having previously won multiple league titles and two Champions League trophies. But the 63-year-old is no longer at the top of his game, currently managing Benfica in the Portuguese top flight – a high standard, but not on the same level as the world’s best.

The Portuguese manager, who has enjoyed spells at clubs such as Manchester United, Chelsea and Inter Milan, has also remained tight-lipped over the possible switch, insisting he will wait until at least next week to discuss his future.

Madrid has also not publicly commented on the possibility that Mourinho could be the next manager.

“I think most people are seeing this as sort of a Hail Mary. There’s a desperation in it,” Barlow said of the possible Mourinho hire.

“What is it that Mourinho can bring to this beyond his personality? That’s what people are kind of searching for.”

Just the potential of his return to Madrid, though, will be one that fans across the world will get excited by. If nothing else, the manager is box office entertainment and will not be scared to stamp his authority on what seems like a club in crisis.

The-CNN-Wire
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