President accuses players of not living up to the club’s demands in brutal speech after Champions League exit
Florentino Perez was very unhappy after Real Madrid’s quarter-final exit in the Champions League, labelling their performance an “intolerable failure” after the knockout sealed a second consecutive trophyless season.
Madrid were eliminated by Bayern Munich after a 4-3 defeat in the second leg in Munich, sealing a 6-4 aggregate loss. Perez reportedly went straight to the dressing room after the match to address the squad.
“I appreciate your effort today, but the season has been a true disappointment for everyone,” Madrid’s president told the players and coaching staff.
“You know the demands that come with being Real Madrid players. A season without titles is a failure because we are Real Madrid, but two seasons without winning titles is intolerable.”
The club’s hierarchy is also concerned about the limited impact of their summer signings. Madrid spent close to €180m on Trent Alexander-Arnold, Franco Mastantuono, Alvaro Carreras and Dean Huijsen, but only Alexander-Arnold started in Munich. Mastantuono made a brief stoppage-time appearance, while Carreras and Huijsen remained on the bench.
There is further frustration over the handling of Endrick, who joined the club for €60m but was loaned out to Lyon in January under former coach Xabi Alonso. Endrick has since shone for the French club and received a call up to the Brazil squad. He is odds-on to join the Seleção stateside for the summer’s World Cup.
Manager Alvaro Arbeloa is expected to remain in charge at Madrid until the end of the season, but his long-term future is not clear as the club look for a permanent replacement. The campaign has been split almost in half between Alonso and Arbeloa but neither was able to guide the team to silverware.
Perez was also dissatisfied with a perceived lack of identity, pointing out that Madrid fielded a starting XI without a Spanish player in the Champions League for the first time in their history.
Before leaving the dressing room, the president set clear expectations for the remainder of the league campaign, urging the squad to “finish at least with dignity this season”.
Madrid are nine points behind Barcelona in La Liga and have six matches left, including a clásico at Camp Nou on 10 May. Their immediate challenge is a home game against Deportivo Alaves.
“You know that being a Real Madrid player is a privilege for a footballer and everyone wants to wear our club’s shirt,” Perez said.
“Besides being a privilege, it also carries a responsibility to wear this shirt and many of you have not fulfilled that responsibility,” Perez said. “You have not lived up to the club’s demands.”
