Real Madrid News
Ancelotti to meet Real Madrid president next week; renewals, transfers will be discussed
The 2022/23 season for Real Madrid came to an unofficial end on Wednesday night after the team’s collapse at Etihad. With La Liga long gone from their grasp and the Champions League no longer on their calendar, Los Blancos do not have anything to play for in their final four games of the season.
The planning for the 2023/24 campaign thus takes centre stage as the manager and administration attempt to reach a consensus over the team’s requirements.
According to reports from AS, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez will meet with manager Carlo Ancelotti next week to plan for the coming season. The club supremo wishes to get a first-hand account of what the manager wants for his next venture.
The meeting will primarily focus on the new signings that the club plan for June and the positions that require urgent reinforcements. One expects the centre-forward, wing-back and midfield positions to take centre stage in the proposed discussions.
At the same time, player exits will also be discussed, with stars such as Ferland Mendy, Eden Hazard, and Alvaro Odriozola likely to be shown the exit doors.
Another important agenda of the event will be the contract renewals of players whose deals expire in June. While the board have been working actively towards the negotiations with players like Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Dani Ceballos, and Marco Asensio, none have been finalized yet.
All signs point to Karim Benzema, Kroos, and Modric staying at Real Madrid for another season. Doubts linger over the futures of Ceballos, Asensio and Nacho Fernandez and the upcoming meeting between Perez and Ancelotti could prove decisive on that front.
A third and final objective of the official discussion could be the future of players on loan at other European clubs. Players like Brahim Diaz have shown great promise in their time away from the Bernabeu and there could be a decision made over whether their future lies in Madrid next season or not.
The feud between Real Madrid and the referees has been ongoing for a long time now, and it is clear that the rift between the two cannot be bridged easily.
Los Blancos have made it clear time and time again that the refereeing standards have not been up to the mark in recent times, especially in their games.
Most recently, the Madrid derby generated much debate over the referees’ decision not to send off Atletico Madrid players but promptly send off a Real Madrid star.
Earlier this week, VAR’s prompt intervention in the decision to send Vinicius Jr. off further fueled the conspiracy theories, although it is quite clear that the offense was red-card worthy.
No support from the higher-ups
As reported by Anton Meana (h/t RM4Arab) in a recent update, no one in the Spanish Football Federation understands Real Madrid’s criticism of the refereeing performances and standards.
While they are aware of the conflict between the two parties, they do not see any fault on the referees’ side and support them fully.
In that sense, it is quite clear that the RFEF see Real Madrid’s allegations and criticism to be baseless in what comes as a massive development. After all, having the highest sporting authority in the country invalidate their claims comes as a big blow.
A full-blown war
Despite not having support from authorities or other parties, Real Madrid continue to wage a lone war against the refereeing, and their biggest weapon on that front has been Real Madrid TV.
After the recent win over Villarreal, the club’s media outlet once again launched a strong attack on the referees and called them out on their errors to mount pressure on the officiating system.
Five yellow cards were shown to the Real Madrid players on the night, in addition to Vinicius Jr.’s red card, and even those on the bench and coaching staff were not spared.
Most of the focus of Real Madrid TV, at this point, is on highlighting the double standards of referees and how Los Blancos are punished for instances where other clubs are handed a let-off.
In any case, the feud is not one to die down any time soon.
