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Madrid looking beyond El Clasico to a summer of change

By on March 31, 2016

From across the pond, it’s easy to tell when summer is just around the corner based on European soccer. The days get longer, clubs announce their far-flung preseason tours and naturally, the rumors circling Real Madrid’s transfer targets heat up.

The United States has long been a traditional preseason stop for the Galacticos and Zinedine Zidane’s men will return to America this summer to play Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, and Bayern Munich. Madrid’s return to the United States, with the club having toured Australia and China last summer, is perhaps a calculated effort to focus more on preparation, rather than publicity, as opposed to last summer’s chaotic media fair.

Heading into this weekend’s El Clasico, the media circus surrounding Madrid is reaching a boiling point. Sunday’s match is finely poised as always, yet the La Liga title is already nearly wrapped up by Barcelona and what is left to salvage of Madrid’s season remains in the Champions League. For Madrid, the biggest question is not the result — though, of course, it always matters — of the Clasico but how that affects their plans heading into a summer of change.

Post-season turnover is always inevitable at Madrid and this summer will be no different. Zidane will aim to build his own team at the club and the change will be accelerated by an impending transfer ban that Madrid look to have successfully postponed until upcoming January window (and following summer).

He will begin to assemble his back line around Raphael Varane, his own discovery, and then face their goalkeeper conundrum head on.

Their changes last summer were underpinned by a deal to sign David de Gea from Manchester United “falling through” at the last minute and the Spaniard will certainly be high on their list of priorities this year. It is reported that they will also attempt to follow through with their plans to sign Eden Hazard and potentially Robert Lewandowski, who is yet to pen his future with Bayern Munich. In turn, Lewandowski would surely imply an exit for Karim Benzema.

Any midfield changes will put increasing pressure upon Isco and James Rodriguez, whose progression has been stifled this season, much to the distress of a club which values its character so highly.

This constant strive for showmanship combined with their need for results fuels the club’s expenditures in the transfer market and keeps the clock ticking at the Bernabeu. It is why, even in a forsaken league campaign, the Clasico will be a source of so much pride for Madrid and preface all of their summer changes.

Photo credit: Raphaël Labbé (Zinedine Zidane) [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.