A match that Madridism didn't want to see

BarcelonaFootball historians recall that Real Madrid truly became great in the 1950s thanks to the European Cup. That newly created tournament became successful at a time when the Old Continent was still rebuilding after the Second World War. It was also a time when the Spanish national team was better known for its failures than for its successes — with the exception of the '64 Eurocup, held precisely in Spain—. So it suited the Franco regime well that the Madrid club, winner of the first five editions, became an ambassador for the country internationally. It was still a winning team that, in the domestic competition of the First Division, would also rack up League titles.

Things have changed a lot today. Madrid has continued to win titles, but Spain is now a formidable team. In 2008, it broke a long historical bad streak by winning the second Eurocup. Since then, it has achieved a League of Nations (2023), two more Eurocups (2012 and 2024), and a World Cup (2010). But these successes have not always been well received by Real Madrid fans, because they have been linked to a playing style closer to Barça – a lover of possession and attacking football – than to what is practiced at the Bernabéu, strictly results-oriented. In fact, the 2008 Eurocup came after a more than controversial decision by the coach, Luis Aragonés, who left Raúl, a symbol of Real Madrid, out of the squad.

Sunday, Spain is once again in a position to win another World Cup. And, once again, they can achieve it with a team that breathes Barcelonism in the squad (Lamine Yamal, Pedri, Dani Olmo, Pau Cubarsí, Gavi, Eric Garcia, and Joan Garcia) and in the way they play on the field. A team where Madrid would have no representation if it weren't for Florentino Pérez hastily closing the signing of Marc Cucurella (trained at La Masia) on the very day the Spanish national team was playing its first match of the tournament.

In the corridors of the Bernabéu, they admit frankly that, in general terms, Florentino is not at all concerned about the Spanish national team. That the president believes Spain's great ambassador remains his Madrid and not the Roja, and therefore he has no qualms about building a starting eleven with almost no Spaniards. Or about selling the vast majority of players trained in the academy—recently renamed La Fábrica—and scouring the world for the great stars who, in addition to their footballing talent, will add a boost to the club's brand. The passport doesn't matter, as long as the crest shines.

Mbappé, eliminated and with no chances for the Ballon d'Or

But this business model has ended up sinking in the World Cup. Kylian Mbappé, the spearhead of Florentino's project, will not play the final after fall against Spain in the semifinals and will have to settle for looking for a goal in the match for third and fourth place that will place him as the top scorer of the tournament. In the Gallic squad there are also Tchouameni and Konaté, another Real Madrid signing this summer. Another of Madrid's main stars, Jude Bellingham, who was defeated in the semifinals by Argentina, will also not be there. These eliminations, after a blank year at the club, leave them with no options to win the Ballon d'Or, an award that the Real Madrid president values to the extreme for the commercial exploitation it can achieve.

In fact, and this is what particularly bothers Florentino, this Ballon d'Or has a high chance of ending up in the hands of two great stars linked to Barça. Lamine Yamal, on the part of the red one, and Leo Messi on the Argentine side. Although in the set sky blue even though there are no footballers playing at the Camp Nou, Messi continues to be linked to the blaugrana team, due to his glorious past and the gestures of sympathy he himself has shown, from that secret and nocturnal visit to the stadium to recent statements where he spoke of Barça as the club he "loved".

Vinícius, a player who could not increase his value at the World Cup

Madrid's failure in the World Cup has had other leading figures, such as the Brazilian Vinícius Júnior, eliminated by Norway in the round of 16. A defeat that has lowered the footballer's valuation, who is awaiting renewal and about whom speculation had even arisen about a departure this summer: even if not publicly admitted, Florentino needs to raise money to compensate, among other things, for the income he has failed to obtain from the commercial exploitation of the Bernabéu stadium (concerts, parking or luxury catering).

Along the way, the Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was also eliminated against Spain in the quarterfinals, a round where the Moroccan Brahim Díaz also fell. The other two Madrid signings of the summer, the Portuguese Bernardo Silva and the Dutch Denzel Dumfries, said goodbye early (round of 16 and round of 32, respectively). And the German Antonio Rüdiger went home in the round of 32, eliminated on penalties by Paraguay, a round where the Austrian David Alaba also fell. The Uruguayan Fede Valverde and the Turkish Arda Güler did not even get past the group stage.