Defensive injuries and a poorly structured midfield—decisions made by the president, general director, and head coach —worked against Real Madrid, which went all-in on offense and forgot that football is a team game, not just about three forwards.

Carlo Ancelotti on the bench, Florentino Pérez in the boardroom, and their advisors committed critical mistakes that led to a season filled with disappointment for a club used to chasing every trophy… but now ends with nothing to show.

The signing of Kylian Mbappé is not the issue. The Frenchman delivered: 37 goals in La Liga. Criticizing him is unfair, even absurd. But as the saying goes: One swallow doesn’t make a summer.

Because while the goals were coming, the midfield failed to feed them, press, and balance the team. The mistake was structural.

Madrid’s greatest sin was to build an attack without truly asking: Who will connect with the strikers? Leaving Luka Modrić alone without someone to replace Toni Kroos after his retirement was a grave miscalculation.

Arda Güler could’ve been the answer. Young, talented, eager. But he remained sidelined, forgotten during a season full of exhausting matches.

Then came the chaos in defense. Throughout crucial parts of the season, Ancelotti fielded players out of position as if the backline were a tactical experiment.

Worse yet, he placed blind faith in physically unfit players, still recovering from injury.”

If Madrid didn’t want to spend on defenders, why not turn to the academy? It’s not the same to improvise a defender… as to develop one from youth.

Eventually, Fran García got minutes. Raúl Asencio was called up from Castilla. But it was too little, too late. The calls for youth were loud and clear, but Madrid’s directors didn’t listen.

Now, with rumors swirling about a new coach for Real Madrid, the picture is clear: a powerful attack, yes. But a fragile midfield… and a broken defense.