Florentino's tears

1. The season is over. Barça has won all three titles up for grabs in Spain, Girona and Espanyol have remained in the top flight after struggling beyond their means, and Real Madrid has, never better said, closed out a year without success. The European Championship Super Cup and the Club World Cup, won months ago, are no consolation for a team that had just won the Champions League and was reinforced by Mbappé, the continent's top scorer. The president, guilty of arrogance, didn't sign a replacement for Toni Kroos, the lifeblood of the midfield who had been hastily retired. Nor did he sign anyone when his starting defensive line collapsed, and that's how things have gone. Without Carvajal, Militao, and Alaba, the team has been a colander. The consequence? Florentino Pérez has sacked the coach with the best resume in history and sacked Luka Modric, the player who dreamed of ending his career at the new Bernabéu, that veritable architectural sardine can.

2. On Saturday, at Ancelotti and Modric's farewell ceremony, everyone cried. Even a weakened Florentino Pérez, who seems to have suddenly grown older. We've never seen him so devastated. He didn't shed a tear when he sacked Sergio Ramos, who demanded to train in the afternoons so he could spend the mornings with his horses in Seville, or when he transferred Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus for €100 million. Back then, the Madrid president wasn't shy about his star players. Now, with an uncertain future, he's softened by nostalgia. Luka Modric, microphone in hand, uttered a line from García Márquez—without mentioning García Márquez—that moved Florentino: "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it's happened." Modric has certainly been a game-changer. In thirteen years at Madrid, the Croatian midfielder has won more Champions League titles (6) than Barça has won in its entire history (5). As Schuster would say, "No need to say anything else".

3. Florentino is now also crying over a miscalculation. He always thought, and commented in close circles, that while Messi was at Barça, it would be very difficult for Real Madrid to make their mark in Spain. They were smashing it in Europe because they only once faced Barça as a rival. But, during Messi's years, leagues usually fell to Barça. He was waiting with bated breath for the Argentine to cross over so he could turn things around, also in La Liga. And lo and behold, when he finally signed Mbappé to form a trio with Vinícius and Bellingham, a 17-year-old kid emerged from Barça's La Masia who captivated everyone, who won games, who unbalanced like no one else, who had charisma, and who had Messi's numbers long before Messi did. With the emergence of Lamine Yamal, a true global phenomenon, I'm not surprised Florentino seems disoriented. He probably thinks we're back there. And while Barça's youth academy is a never-ending mine, Madrid's La Fábrica is a quarry on a dead end.

4. There were also tears at Barça this Saturday. With Romeo, there was a lot of fuss. The Barça women's season isn't over yet. Like Flick's team, Alexia, Aitana, and company have won every title up for grabs in Spain (pending next weekend's Copa de la Reina final), but they've eluded the chance to win back Europe. After the final loss to Arsenal, all the players were crying, the masseurs were in tears, and Laporta held back his emotions as best he could. The team went to Lisbon to collect the trophy and forgot about playing football. After so many exhibitions, the opponent was the better side; Barça didn't play their usual game, made more mistakes than usual, and when they started to play it like only they know how, the highly motivated English team scored. "You can't always win." That's not García Márquez's phrase. It was said by Aitana Bonmatí. And she's also right.