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Florentino Perez -- the man who brought the so-called Galactico era of Zidane, Figo and Beckham to Real Madrid -- could return to his old role as club president as soon as Monday. Perez's only other candidate resigned on Friday, with the final deadline to declare a candidacy Sunday. Already two of the world's biggest names -- Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka -- are being strongly linked for mega-money moves to the Bernabeu this summer. On Friday, Perez was coy about the long-rumored move for Ronaldo, but he didn't exactly quash the whispers either.
Frankly, anyone and anything seems in play for Real Madrid.
Eternal rival Barcelona's win in the Champions League final -- and the worldwide acclaim the side has received since beating Manchester United 2-0 on Wednesday -- coupled with the Catalans running away with La Liga (and beating Madrid 6-2 on May 2) must be eating away at Madrid fans worldwide. The winning of the treble is one thing, but I'd bet how Barca's style has been hailed as playing the game "the right way" probably burns more.
To catch up with Barcelona, Real Madrid needs to make a splash and the transfer of either Ronaldo or Kaka would certainly do that. Yet, those moves might only be cosmetic, at best.
Real Madrid certainly have some great players -- Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos, etc. -- but something seems clearly amiss at the core of the club, witness the Champions League Round of 16 thrashing at the hands of Liverpool. Current coach Juande Ramos had loads of success in Spain with Sevilla. You wonder, though, are the moves Ramos wants to make on the same page as the champagne dreams of Perez?
Bringing in star players is nice in the fact it makes headlines and sells a lot of jerseys. Doing this, without a clear plan in mind as to building a team, tends to lead to disaster ... and an empty trophy case. Sound familiar? Look no further than the end of the Galactico era earlier this decade.
