Real Madrid News
Real Madrid could rename club’s training facility to ‘Florentino Perez Sports City’
Real Madrid have a tradition of naming landmarks and buildings related to the team after club legends and presidents.
Santiago Bernabeu, one of the Merengues‘ most successful presidents who also served as a player, has the first team’s stadium named after him.
The Castilla team’s stadium is also named after former honorary president and one of the greatest players in Real Madrid’s history – Alfredo Di Stefano.
According to reports from MARCA, there is a proposal to name the club’s training facilities, called the Real Madrid Sports City, after the current club president, and call it ‘Florentino Perez Sports City’.
A worthy candidate
Perez took over as the president of the Merengues back in 2000 from Lorenzo Sans. The world remembers his promise to bring Barcelona star Luis Figo to the club, which he lived up to.
In the following years, Perez signed some of the world’s best players and made them don white.
Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, David Beckham, Michael Owen and Robinho are just some of the innumerable stars he roped in, giving the team the title of the ‘Galacticos.’
The Spanish businessman resigned from his post in 2006 but was re-elected in 2009. In his second tenure as club president, he oversaw a new generation of greats including Mesut Ozil, Angel di Maria, Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, and Kaka.
His presidency has remained unchallenged since his re-election in 2006, and it is safe to say that Perez will go down as one of the team’s most successful presidents in history.
Naming the Valdebebas in honour of him is thus a decision that few will challenge as unworthy.
Where does the proposal stand?
A group of presidents from Real Madrid’s official supporters’ clubs are collecting signatures for this initiative. If nothing happens, it will be transferred to the next General Assembly of Real Madrid for approval.
As it stands, it appears that the proposal will be approved by the delegates once the signatures have been recorded. After all, Perez has the complete trust of all stakeholders.
The Real Madrid Sports City covers 1.2 million square metres. It was inaugurated in 2005 with 11 natural and artificial grass football pitches and a stadium with a capacity for 6,000 spectators.
It also has a basketball court, a state-of-the-art medical centre, and a building that serves as the club’s office.
Bernardo Silva was one of Real Madrid’s headline signings last summer. The Portuguese midfielder arrived on a free transfer from Manchester City and appeared destined to become the creative successor to Toni Kroos and Luka Modric in the middle of the park.
Indeed, with the club having not signed a new central midfielder, many within Real Madrid saw the veteran star as a solution to the issue.
Manager Jose Mourinho made him a starter from the very beginning in pre-season, but not in his usual role on the right. Instead, he deployed his compatriot as a deep-lying playmaker in the midfield double pivot.
A change in circumstances
Silva failed to have the expected influence when operating in a deeper role in midfield in the chances he got.
Combined with the emergence of Arda Guler and Aurelien Tchouameni’s return to fitness, the Portuguese international has now lost his place in the starting line-up and dropped to the bench.
Bernardo’s situation became particularly striking against Villarreal this past Saturday at the Santiago Bernabeu, when he did not play a single minute.
Limited opportunities under Mourinho
Bernardo has played six matches for Real Madrid, starting three and coming on as a substitute in another three.
He did not feature against Villarreal or Elche, while his only appearance in the last three matches was a little over 10 minutes against Atletico Madrid. He was not used regularly by the Portugal national team during the international break either.
Across Real Madrid’s eight La Liga fixtures, Silva has accumulated just 282 minutes of playing time.
The Champions League now presents another opportunity for the former Manchester City captain, who has yet to make his European debut for Real Madrid this season.
He missed the match against Inter Milan because he was still serving a suspension carried over from his time at the Etihad Stadium last season.
It remains to be seen whether Mourinho will give him an opportunity against AS Roma in the coming week.
For now, the midfielder’s reduced playing time suggests that the Portuguese coach has lost some of his faith in a player who arrived with high expectations after leaving Manchester City.
