At Real Madrid, it is not just the gang of Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappé who must face a monstrous demand. The basketball team, which is one of the best in Europe, is also widely followed in the media, with all that entails. A little in the shadows but with some media coverage all the same, the women’s football team does not escape this very high bar either. Suffice to say that this 7-0 humiliation inflicted by FC Barcelona during the women’s Clasico on Sunday, which made the headlines of all the Spanish sports media, is going very badly.
Created in July 2020 – with the takeover of CD Tacon which played in the first division – the Merengue women’s section logically left behind its main adversaries which are FC Barcelona and Atlético de Madrid, pioneers in Spain but also in Europe. But for now, as the team enters its seventh season, no title has been gleaned, where Barça crushes everything in its path. Seasons far from disastrous, with five second places in La Liga, a lost Cup final, and several Champions League quarters. But, indeed, still no title, which is intolerable for a club like Real Madrid, especially when the sworn enemy is chaining them.
A project that does not take off
However, Real Madrid has put the means on the table, and the team’s budget now exceeds 10 million euros. It is a significant investment, knowing that for example, the budget of the OL women’s team, one of the benchmarks in Europe, is around 8 million euros. On the PSG side, it seems slightly higher, standing around 9 million. This summer, Real Madrid put their hands in their pockets with several big transfers, for example enlisting Swedish striker Felicia Schröder for 1.5 million euros, being the second highest transfer in the history of women’s football behind Grace Geyoro to London City. €600,000 was also spent on defender Janou Levels, which is also a significant investment on this scale. No doubts, Pérez is putting in the means. But there is nothing to do, Barça, which also has a policy similar to that of the first team with a very productive Masia and good transfers made elsewhere, remains ahead.
To the point where some are calling for action. “We must make a courageous decision: close the women’s section. Real Madrid cannot afford to have a team that is constantly ridiculed. You can’t have a women’s team that is there for Barça to give you 7. Next time it will be 5, or maybe 8.”for example launched the journalist from Radio Marca Latigo Serrano. “This humiliation can have consequences. Florentino Pérez may get fed up and put an end to this project which is currently following a fairly correct trajectory”warned his colleague Roberto Gomez. It must be said that if Barça has managed to build the loyalty of a real fanbase, with more than 6,000 spectators on average in the league and certain big matches played in a well-filled Camp Nou (60,000 spectators), Real Madrid has an average of 1,400 spectators, having not (yet) managed to get the Merengues in their pocket. A project which is still struggling to seduce and which is awaiting a first title which is slow in coming…
