Thread by @ZachLowy

On paper alone, I don’t think any club in Europe added more quality to their squad than Real Madrid this summer: Eden Hazard, Éder Militão, Luka Jović, Takefusa Kubo, Rodrygo, Ferland Mendy is one hell of a mercato.

That doesn’t necessarily mean they improved the most, though.

Alphonse Areloa will serve as a backup, fill in during cup games, and bridge the gap until Andriy Lunin is ready. Alberto Soro will probably be sold for a decent profit to a midtable side.

Those others, however, can all end up starting for Real Madrid.

Madrid will reap the rewards of Ødegaard, Lunin, Hakimi, Ceballos, Kubo, Reguilón, Javi Sánchez and co. getting regular minutes during their loan spells this season. Whether they’ll add competition to the squad or fetch decent profits, they’ll help a lot:

https://twitter.com/zachlowy/status/1162754610928525312?s=21

We have to put in context what Madrid achieved: 4 Champions Leagues in 5 years is simply unheard of in the modern era. Over the past two seasons, though, these players (and the coach) seem to be coming down to earth.

It’s an ugly awakening, a painful hangover.

A lot of these players are simply not what they used to be; Father Time is undefeated. Modrić, Marcelo, Ramos, Bale will never be what they once were.

Others, like Kroos, Casemiro, and Varane, all of whom should be in their prime right now, seem to be at a crossroads.

Perhaps Zidane needs to find new ideas. Perhaps these players have either lost their hunger or are just worn out from their historic reign. I think it’s a mix of both.

Either way, rebuilding takes time, careful deliberation and patience, not trigger-happy decision making.

It’s easy to get caught up in the allure of the hot new thing, the flavor of the month, but the fact is, no club in Europe added more quality to their roster than Real Madrid did this summer.

They signed the best player in the Premier League in Eden Hazard. A player who has won leagues by myself, a player who dragged a mediocre Chelsea squad to Champions League football, a player who has been dreaming of playing for Zidane and for Real Madrid for years.

I maintain that Inter Milan had the best mercato out of all 32 Champions League teams. But they didn’t sign better players than Real Madrid.

They added to masters of their craft in Conte and Marotta, whilst also reshaping the squad.

https://twitter.com/zachlowy/status/1168927921010073604?s=21

Did they sign Florentino’s priority signing (Neymar)? No. Did they sign Zidane’s priority signing (Pogba)? No. But they still pulled off their best summer mercato in five years.

Many forget that during Madrid’s historic 3-peat, Florentino hardly brought in any big names.

In the summer of 2015, he signed Danilo, Kiko Casilla, and Mateo Kovačić, none of whom are still at the club. Jesús Vallejo is away on loan.

Lucas Vázquez is the last man standing.

In the summer of 2016, they actually made a sizable profit, exercising their buyback option on Álvaro Morata, whilst selling Jesé, Denis Cheryshev, Omar Mascarell and Álvaro Medrán.

In the summer of 2017, Real Madrid made an even bigger profit. They brought in Theo Hernández and Dani Ceballos, sold Morata for more than double what they paid for him a year ago.

Whilst all of these mild mercatos were happening, Real Madrid dominated Europe.

The point is, Real Madrid reaped the rewards of carefully constructed squad planning. They brought in Galácticos (Cristiano, Bale, James), they brought in players plying their trade in midtable Liga sides (Navas, Isco), and they brought in players on the cusp of their prime.

A lot of these players were brought in for bargain prices (Modrić, Kroos), and a lot of these players had lived through the era of Barcelona’s dominance (Benzema, Ramos, Marcelo). This was the perfect storm of a world-class squad and a manager who could motivate like none other.

There were really only two players who could replace Cristiano’s impact without a massive drop in quality, and PSG signed both during the summer of 2017.

A few months later, Real Madrid beat PSG, won the Champions League...and then Ronaldo left.

Perhaps making Mbappé the team’s highest earner would’ve upset the balance in the locker room & led to Madrid missing out on the title in Kiev. Perhaps Florentino was right in not bending to his demands. There are so many intangibles we fail to recognize when analyzing transfers.

We’ll never know, but it’s clear that giving Mbappé the #7 would be more “Galáctico-style” than giving Mariano the #7.

Florentino got too comfy in his own success and didn’t give Zidane the leverage he wanted. He knew Cristiano would leave, and so he left before him.

Naturally, both Lopetegui and Solari failed with a squad that was both mentally & physically worn out and that had failed to replace one of the greatest footballers of all time.

Zidane came back with all the leverage in the world and got €12 million/year + incentivized add-ons.

That’s a lower salary than Mourinho was demanding, and financially, it’s a lot more attractive than paying Tottenham £34 million in compensation to hire Pochettino.

Hindsight is 20/20, but Florentino made the safest move by bringing back Zidane.

Zidane had always been Florentino’s jewel; he signed him during the first Galáctico era, he pushed him through the ranks (sporting director, Castilla manager, first team manager), but this year, Florentino blinked first. Zidane won the leverage battle:

https://twitter.com/zachlowy/status/1105161454745935872?s=21

Immediately, they brought in the hottest (attainable) center forward on the market in Jović, the best left back on the market in Ferland Mendy, and a quality prospect in Éder Militão, all for sizable fees.

They erred in not reinforcing their midfield; they let go of Ceballos (loan), Kovačić, and Marcos Llorente without signing any replacements.

Instead of chasing a pipe dream in Pogba, they should’ve gone for Tanguy Ndombele. There isn’t a better Modrić replacement out there.

So far, Madrid have dropped points to Valladolid and Villarreal, suffered an injury crisis, and are still going through the same tactical and mentality issues that plagued them during their nightmare 2018/19. It takes the shine out of a positive step forward in their rebuild.

It would be unfair to solely focus on Zidane’s motivational skills and man management; his tactical set-up got the most out of a talented squad, minimizing their flaws and maximizing their strengths. The idea that Zidane relied on “cross and Inshallah” is a complete myth.

With that said, you have to recognize context when making decisions. Zidane is still well-liked by most of his squad, but is he the right man for a rebuild? Or is he better equipped to get the most out of a team’s prime?

There’s a reason Juve wanted him to replace Allegri.

There will be more than questions than answers in Chamartín this season.

There’s the question of contracts: Modrić (33) and Nacho’s (29) contracts expire next year, whilst Ramos (33), Benzema (31), Vázquez (28), James (28), Casemiro (27) & Valverde’s (21) all expire in 2021.

There’s the question of whether or not Zidane is the right man to steer a long and challenging rebuild. There’s the question over whether certain legends (Marcelo, Ramos) have anything left in the tank, there’s the question of whether the new arrivals can cope with the pressure.

I will say this; there’s no room for sentimentality or nostalgia when it comes to rebuilding. You’re going to have to break some hearts, make some tough decisions, and cut ties with people who’ve given their lives’ work for the club.

If anyone knows that, it’s Florentino.