Real Madrid clearly haven’t had the best of starts to the season, as the club are still lagging behind Barcelona and have looked leagues off compared to their arch-rival.
New coach Jose Mourinho has been unable to bring back cohesion to the Real Madrid unit, with the dressing room still rife with uncertainty and a lack of chemistry.
And according to fresh reports, patience with the Portuguese is already beginning to wear thin at the very top of the club.
Doubts growing in the boardroom
Mourinho has still struggled at Real Madrid. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)
Mourinho has had a difficult time at Real Madrid. He was handed freedom to make decisions, listened to on signings and backed with investment to bolster the squad. As per Jorge Picon, that support fuelled expectations which are now beginning to cool in some offices.
The doubts are said to stem from the executive suites rather than the dressing room, where Mourinho continues to enjoy the backing of his players.
Yet there are understood to be important voices at the club unconvinced by what they are seeing. The scant presence of Yan Diomande in the starting lineups, as well as a change involving Arda Guler that was deemed untimely, did not sit well in those quarters.
At the heart of the discontent lies a sense of deja vu, with too many similarities to last season in both the style of play and certain selection calls.
Perez has a replacement in mind
Deschamps is Perez’s chosen one. (Photo by Molly Darlington/Getty Images)
What is interesting, however, is that Real Madrid president Florentino Perez already has a name in mind should Mourinho be sacked.
According to Sergio Valentin, Perez has told his closest circle that his chosen successor is none other than Didier Deschamps.
The France legend, one of only three men to win the World Cup as both a player and a manager, is said to be the president’s preferred option in the event that results fail to improve.
For now, Mourinho retains the support that matters most on a daily basis, that of his squad. But with a defining week building towards the Clasicoand the gap to Barcelona already sizeable, the message from above is clear.
At a club like Real Madrid, even a manager of Mourinho’s stature is afforded little time, and the coming fixtures could prove decisive in shaping his future.