Real Madrid are a club looking for answers after arguably the worst seven-day period in the club’s history.
Three home matches ultimately led to the end of Madrid’s hopes in three competitions.
Dumped out of the Copa del Rey by Barcelona, the same opponents ended their slim La Liga hopes three days later.
But Tuesday night brought complete and utter humiliation, with Madrid giving up a 2-1 first leg lead as their bid for a fourth successive Champions League crown were eviscerated by Ajax, as they ran amok at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The Amsterdammers, led by Dusan Tadic, Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt, destroyed Los Blancos to run out 4-1 winners and book their spot in the quarter-finals.
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After the final whistle, as Ajax players celebrated with supporters, Real Madrid’s dejected stars trooped back into the dressing room.
There, they were joined by Sergio Ramos, the captain who sat out the game suspended, having intentionally got himself booked in the first leg in an attempt to ensure he entered the last eight with a clean disciplinary slate.
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And according to AS, they were also joined by Florentino Perez.
And while supporters chanted for the under-fire president to leave the club outside the ground, Perez tore strips off his players inside.
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It’s claimed that in a blistering attack on his players, Perez suggested that they lacked dedication and went so far as to label them “disgraceful”.
However, club captain Ramos is alleged to have fired back in front of his teammates, accusing Perez of their current problems being his fault, declaring that his planning for the campaign hadn’t been up to standard and stating “Pay me up and I’ll go”.
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Perez remained at the ground until 2am on Wednesday morning with members of the Madrid board, as they seek how to turn things around.
Jose Mourinho has begun fluttering his eyelashes in the direction of his former club, stating he would have no issue returning – despite issues with, among others, Ramos – and labelling the club as “unique”.
A return for Zinedine Zidane has also been mooted, with the Frenchman having taken time away from the game following his exit at the end of last season.
