FLorentino Pérez is the most successful president in Real Madrid’s history. Under his leadership, the football sector was divided into two stages and won 37 titles, including 7 European Cups. This equates to almost 30% of all players who have reached the trophy cabinet throughout the club’s history
But this season, those numbers haven’t increased. There are several contributing factors to the Real Madrid president’s deep fatigue with the way the season has unfolded, but one important point is that it ended without any celebration. Coach Valdebebas’ office understands that the team has enough to not be able to finish the season without a trophy.
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This is the fifth season since he took over in June 2000 that the soccer team has gone without a trophy. Two were during his first term and three after he decided to return to office in 2009. Each season without a trophy brought important results.
2004-2005: Galactic Collapse
The Galaxy Project was in crisis last season. Queiroz’s arrival to modernize Del Bosque’s winning model was a fiasco. Only the Spanish Super Cup had been won, and the Portuguese knew his fate was sealed months before the end of the season after the European defeat in Monaco.
The highlight of the 2004-05 season was the impressive signings of Camacho and Owen. The manager lasted three games in La Liga, but the season turned into a disaster. Garcia Lemmon and Luxembourg came off the bench. Madrid didn’t win the title, and they weren’t even close to it.
2005-06: Resignation
Wanderlei Luxembourgo was signed at Christmas 2004 and lasted until the same period a year later. He was the coach who finished the season without a trophy and started the next season which ended the same way. The end of the trophyless streak came with López Caro in the dugout.
Promoted from Castilla by Florentino, he was the manager who suffered the sudden resignation of the president at the end of February 2006. The galaxy is complete.
2009-10. bitter return
Then came the Calderon era, and Madrid won La Liga for the second time in a row, a feat that would not be repeated for at least 20 years. However, due to a major scandal, the president was ousted and elections were held. Florentino came out of the shadows to run for office and won in a landslide. He took over a badly damaged team that had won two La Liga titles and only won the Supercopa de España, with Barcelona winning 6-2 at the Bernabéu.
His return saw them sign three world-class players: Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Benzema. The three players who won the European Championship with Spain, plus Xabi Alonso, Arbeloa and Albiol. Manuel Pellegrini was chosen as the manager.
The extraordinary gamble did not pay off. The season ended in disappointment, and from the moment they lost 4-0 to Segunda B team (Alcorcón) in the Copa del Rey, Pellegrini was sentenced and Guardiola’s Barça dominated. The reaction to a return to winning ways could also be seen at Milan. This is a deal with Jose Mourinho, the champion of the Champions League and the manager who executed Barcelona in the semi-finals.
It wasn’t just a change of manager. The 2009-10 season also marked the farewell to the club of two White House icons, Raul and Guti.
2020-21: Farewell to Zidane and Sergio Ramos
Florentino’s return and a titleless season were followed by a decade in which Madrid never went empty-handed. Mourinho won the 2011 Copa del Rey in a stunning final against Barcelona in the midst of a disastrous Clasico. It was the beginning of an era in which Madrid were crowned European champions four times (three in a row). It was something not seen since the 1970s (Ajax and Bayern).
Those glorious years turned into a downturn in 2018 and 2019. After Zidane’s first departure, Madrid only won the Club World Cup. They hired Lopetegui’s successor, Solari, as their coach. In March 2019, ZZ is back. Thanks to his performances, Madrid became champions of La Liga and the Supercopa de España the following season.
The pandemic arrived, stadiums were empty for the season, and Madrid failed to win the title. They played La Liga until the final round, but Atlético did not lose against Valladolid. In the Champions League, they were eliminated in the semi-finals (Chelsea), and in the Copa del Rey, they were eliminated in the quarter-finals at home (3-4, against Real Sociedad).
However, there was a poison running through the team. It is a renewal that has established Sergio Ramos. Due to this, the Madrid captain announced that he was leaving the club on June 17, during the Euros, when he was excluded from the competition. Prior to that, on May 31, Zidane had once again announced his resignation as Real Madrid manager. And he cited a lack of trust in him from the club as one of the reasons.
2025-26. What now?
Ancelotti is back. Madrid won two La Liga titles (2022 and 2024) and the Champions League that season. But last season, only the European Super Cup and Club World Cup reached Valdebebas. The Italians fell. We signed Xabi Alonso, but there was no real belief in him. Arbeloa has arrived, but barring a miracle in La Liga, the 2025-26 season will end with nothing to celebrate at Madrid.
So far, only Luxembourgo have resisted a trophyless season during the Florentino era. It was a close second. After taking over the team in December, his confidence in his 2.0 project lasted just 14 games in La Liga. Madrid are currently considering a bench scenario. That’s because Arbeloa is unlikely to be given the short second chance given to the Brazilian.
