Manchester leaves many doubts in the Madrid project

From euphoria to the sea of ​​doubts. This is football and that is exactly what has happened to Real Madrid in 22 days, those that elapsed exactly from the time they drew against Villarreal to win their League 34 until they lost in Manchester to fall out of the Champions League in the round of 16 for second consecutive Year… The Etihad suddenly leaves many questions regarding Real Madrid's future project. IEven Zidane had a hard time saying clearly that he would continue next season.

The main and the mother of all the problems is that now it is doubted if this squad is enough, after falling in the second round two consecutive seasons, to face the Champions League with guarantees. It must be taken into account that Madrid has very difficult to spend money on signings due to the crisis derived from the coronavirus. The club's income was around 600 million before the pandemic. Now, you have to wait for the bills to see how much they have fallen, but the forecast is that from 100 to 200 million will have stopped coming in (and it is very difficult for the public to enter the stadium next season). In addition, soon it is necessary to begin to face the payment of the loan for the reform of the Bernabéu. For now the club has taken air with the sale of Achraf to Inter, which has cost 40 million euros.

The idea of ​​Madrid today is not to make hires. And as for the return of the loaners, many doubts have already been cleared up, such as that Odegaard will continue at Real and Ceballos at Arsenal. In fact, it only seems that Lunin is going to return to be a substitute for Courtois, because if a good offer comes up for Reguilón, who does not have a very good feeling with Zidane, it would also be accepted.

It is not all bad news. Militao season finale gives a little air in the back, because before the pandemic it was suspected that Real Madrid needed to sign a central defender. If Nacho stays (he ends his contract in 2022 and he might want to go out to find more minutes) that expense will not be necessary. You can also use Vallejo (on loan this year at Granada).

The lack of goal is alarming.

The problems are most evident at the top. There is a matador missing, and the goal is still very expensive in the market. It seems that Real Madrid wants to face a high-caliber operation in these times of uncertainty and just one summer after spending 60 million euros on Jovic. But the three goals that Asensio has scored and Hazard's only goal are clearly insufficient to counteract the 50 that Cristiano scored on average per season. That was the idea of ​​the club and, for the moment, it has not materialized.

Hazard is the other great doubt that definitely left the Manchester game. After the operation on the ankle that had already undergone a previous surgery in his time at Chelsea, there is some uncertainty about the benefits he will be able to give in the future. After the long break due to the pandemic, he continued to have discomfort and could not play the final part of the League. But is that after another 20-day break, finished the Etihad game on ice in that area. Something is wrong there. The franchise player (until Mbappé gets a shot), who cost 100 million, is 29 years old and should be at the full maturity of his game.

Two errors by Varane seem to have turned the tables in a Madrid that ended the League euphoric and that it has several important players that They are in their thirties like Ramos, Marcelo, Modric, Kroos or Benzema. For the moment it has been made a priority to get Bale and James go out. The two of them take 25 million euros net (50 gross) in salaries per season.