The vast majority of domestic fans do not realize that Real Madrid is not what they imagine.
In the eyes of fans, Real Madrid is a team, a football team composed of first-team players, coaching staff, and youth teams.
The two or three hundred employees at the Bernabéu headquarters, the Bernabéu stadium staff, and the Valdebebas staff all work around the first team.
But what is the reality?
Not really.
Real Madrid is a club, a membership organization, and a modern enterprise with a strict hierarchy.
Florentino is the chairman of the company, and under him is the board of directors, including the vice chairman and directors.
Further down, there is the CEO and various administrative departments. Although the sporting department is the core business, it is only one of the departments. Technical director Jorge Valdano is not even as influential as public relations director Butragueño.
Why?
At least Butragueño serves as a vice president.
Not to mention, below the technical director, there are the sporting director and the football director, followed by the football department and the basketball department.
Therefore, many people do not realize that whether it is Gao Shen or Ronaldo, there is actually a very long distance between them and President Florentino.
As Pellegrini said, during his season as Real Madrid head coach, he only had a handful of direct conversations with Florentino.
Not to mention actually sitting down and discussing the team's vision and future plans.
Of course, nothing is absolute.
As the core business of the club, football is naturally highly valued by the Real Madrid president.
During the first period of the Galácticos, Florentino had a lot of dealings with the first team, so Ronaldo, Zidane and others would directly call Florentino's mobile phone to complain.
But everyone who has worked in a company knows that this kind of cross-level management is very problematic.
Therefore, in the second phase of the Galácticos, Florentino changed this management mechanism.
Even Cristiano Ronaldo does not have the right to talk to him at any time.
Mourinho is a head coach highly regarded by Florentino, but he did not have it either.
It was not until Gao Shen coached Real Madrid that he and Florentino established this kind of direct dialogue.
But in the past year or so, Gao Shen has never bypassed Valdano to talk directly to Florentino.
This is a tacit understanding between them, and also a way to maintain Real Madrid's current management system.
But everyone at Real Madrid knows very well that Gao Shen has that authority.
In Real Madrid's first team, there is another person who has it, and that is Zidane.
Everyone knows that Zidane is Florentino's advisor and has always had a very special status at Real Madrid.
Some even say that if Gao Shen were not Real Madrid's head coach, Zidane would probably return to being the president's advisor, which is a very promising role.
However, like all businesses, or even more complicated than some, as a football club under worldwide scrutiny, Real Madrid has many things that cannot be put on the table.
To use Florentino's words when he advised Rosell to give up suing Laporta, whether you win or lose, it damages the club's reputation.
…
After finishing their business, Florentino suggested that Gao Shen take a walk with him outside.
The others immediately understood what was going on, and they followed from a distance, not getting close enough to hear the conversation.
Although the morning training session had ended, Valdebebas was still very busy because the coaching staff had to prepare for the afternoon session in advance, and the grounds crew had to maintain the pitches used in the morning. Some damaged turf needed to be replaced promptly. These were all routine tasks.
Gao Shen and Florentino walked slowly from the first-team training ground toward the youth section.
"In recent days, many directors have talked to me about Casillas," Florentino began.
Gao Shen had guessed it.
This had always been a sensitive topic.
Because Casillas is not only the captain of Real Madrid, but also the captain of the Spanish national team.
In fact, it has long been a tradition that the captain of Real Madrid is also the captain of the Spanish national team. If one day the captain of the national team were a Barcelona player, it would trigger an uproar.
There are many things that cannot be laid out in detail. To do so would require me to jump through time. I can only say that the rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona is no longer just about the two clubs, but also about national sentiment within Spain.
"You know my opinion. As early as 2012, I had this idea. You persuaded me then, but the situation is different now. You, I, and Real Madrid have done our best."
Florentino clearly still had the idea of selling Casillas and letting Ramos take his place.
This is not because Ramos is more obedient, or because he is Florentino's man.
In fact, Ramos is no more obedient than Casillas. People who know him are well aware of his character.
The key issue is that Ramos is young, and he can continue the tradition of being captain of Real Madrid and captain of the Spanish national team.
Of course, the Spanish national team's captaincy has its own rules, which are similar to Real Madrid's captain selection process.
Real Madrid's captaincy is based on seniority since joining the club, while the national team's is based on number of appearances.
In today's Spanish national team, once Casillas retires, only Xavi has more caps than Ramos.
Many people may not have noticed that Ramos was actually selected for the Spanish national team in March 2005, while Iniesta was not called up until May 2006, and Fàbregas was first called up in March 2006.
In other words, among the current group of players, Ramos still has the longest seniority.
Of course, he cannot be compared with Xavi.
But there have been reports that Xavi plans to retire from international football after the World Cup.
Ramos was selected for the national team early. Real Madrid spent a large fee to sign him and then developed him heavily. It is unrealistic to say he lacks experience.
Ramos was born in 1986, and among Real Madrid's players born in the 1990s, the most highly regarded are Carvajal and Isco, both born in 1992. Jesé, born in 1993, Morata, born in 1992, and Illarramendi, born in 1990, are also excellent.
In other words, Real Madrid now has a complete pipeline to supply players to the national team.
Barcelona is also paying attention.
From Puyol to Xavi to Iniesta, Barcelona has been consistently overshadowed by Real Madrid. Even in the generation of Fàbregas in 1987 and Busquets in 1988, they were clearly suppressed by Ramos.
Next, it will be a question of who lasts longer.
As long as Ramos can hold on, the captaincy will fall to Busquets or Fàbregas.
But that will probably happen many years later.
If Busquets and Fàbregas cannot outlast Ramos, then the next in line will be Carvajal, Isco, Jesé, and others to continue the tradition.
Of course, according to what Gao Shen knows, Ramos did not actually outlast Busquets. Unfortunately, in his previous life, the development of Isco and Jesé was not as expected.
Man proposes, God disposes.
…
"Has any team made an offer?" Gao Shen suddenly asked.
Florentino did not hide it and nodded. "Yes, several teams are inquiring."
"What did Casillas himself say?"
"We have not asked yet."
Gao Shen understood.
In fact, this is a very difficult decision.
Casillas is a very good player, but he is old now.
From a club operator's perspective, selling him is normal and kills two birds with one stone.
As early as 2012, when Casillas made a big mistake, Florentino and others wanted to sell him, but Gao Shen kept him.
Now, their view is to sell him and let Ramos take over as soon as possible.
But from an emotional perspective, it is a difficult decision.
It is not about sentimentality. It is about considering the reaction in the locker room, especially the psychology of certain players.
For example, what would Xabi Alonso think?
Why did Villas-Boas fail at Chelsea?
Because he bluntly told veterans like Drogba, Lampard, and Terry, I am here to push you out.
These veterans made great contributions to the club and carried significant weight in the dressing room. They might be older, but they definitely still had the ability and the authority to influence things.
Just like Xabi Alonso, he can still play for at least two or three years without any problem.
There is also Casillas. If he leaves, Real Madrid will have to find another suitable goalkeeper who is willing to be a backup.
"Remember, in 2012, I told you that being too emotional is not good, but being too rational and calm is not good either. I still say this now. We need wisdom to handle the Casillas situation."
Many people accuse Real Madrid of lacking humanity, and there is a reason for that.
For example, Raúl did not even have a farewell ceremony after leaving Real Madrid. Yet he only played two years at Schalke 04, and the Bundesliga club held a grand farewell ceremony for him and even temporarily retired his number.
Whether it was for publicity or something else, Schalke 04's move did make Real Madrid look very inhumane.
"If you are asking for my opinion, I respect Casillas."
Gao Shen paused and added, "If you have made a decision, I still hope you can respect Casillas and that both sides can maintain some dignity."
"Do not worry about the locker room. No matter what happens, I am here, and there will not be any trouble."
Gao Shen had already made himself clear enough.
"In addition, I want to say one more thing. I have already told Casillas that Courtois will start in the next Champions League match and the Copa del Rey final."
"He has almost recovered now. Next, I will consider arranging for him to play in the league when the pressure of the match is high."
This actually meant arranging for Casillas to play as a backup.
Gao Shen had spoken to Casillas about this several times, and the Real Madrid captain had accepted it.
But Gao Shen promised him that after the new season, everything would start from scratch and he could compete fairly with Courtois.
Of course, the premise is that he continues to stay at Real Madrid.
(To be continued.)