Opinion - Ballon d’Ors, Clasicos and more: Real Madrid are the model superclub right now and it isn't close

It's not been a bad few days for Real Madrid has it? After strolling to an impressive 3-1 win in El Clasico over Barcelona, Los Blancos took home the Ballon d’Or on Monday evening, with Karim Benzema winning the award for the first time.

It was one of the less surprising Ballon d’Ors, it must be said. Benzema’s victory had been an open secret for some time now after his goals propelled Madrid to a La Liga and Champions League double.

Having scored another in the Clasico, Benzema and Real Madrid are now three points clear at the top of La Liga (albeit after only nine games), and with some of Europe’s elite struggling this season, they are the favourites to retain their title in the Champions League. If you’re a Real Madrid fan, life is good right now.

Which brings us to the core argument of this article. Are Real Madrid the model elite club right now? The short answer is yes, absolutely. There are undeniably better run clubs further down the pecking order (the Bundesliga and Union Berlin say hello) but in terms of the top table of clubs in the world right now, Madrid are the example of how to run a team.

Here’s the long answer as to why.

Let’s start with what most fans care the most about: the transfers. It seems that, at long last, Florentino Perez has landed on the perfect system. Rather than just launching money at his problems, Perez has started to use market inefficiencies to buy young players earlier or undervalued players and then use the big expenditures as a complement to the main transfer strategy, rather than as the driving factor.

Look at the line-up for the Clasico on the weekend. Thibaut Courtois and David Alaba both arrived as a result of their contracts not being renewed at Chelsea and Bayern Munich respectively. Vinicius Jr and Federico Valverde both came at a young age directly from South America.

Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Karim Benzema are stalwarts of the team but even their arrivals were smart. Kroos was another whose contract ran down whilst Benzema and Modric, albeit high prices at the time, have been made to look like bargains because of their longevity.

Then you have players like Eder Miltao, Ferland Mendy and Aurelien Tchouameni. All bought for big figures, but with the idea they would fulfil their roles for the next decade or so like Benzema and Modric. Dani Carvajal was also clever, inserting a buy-back into his deal with Bayer Leverkusen. Even on the bench, Antonio Rudiger was a free agent and Rodrygo and Eduardo Camavinga were both signed earlier for less. Really the only major blip on the copybook in the current squad is Eden Hazard, of whom it seems Perez was just too infatuated with to see that he was overspending for a player on the decline.

Next year, you’d expect another big name to arrive (Jude Bellingham anyone?) with maybe one or two other younger pieces who will bolster the squad. You know in 2024 they will make a run at either Kylian Mbappe or Erling Haaland (if not sooner). Whether it was Perez himself who self-evaluated and realised his faults or someone in Madrid who pointed it out, someone deserves a lot of credit.

The South American scouting, in particular, is absolutely fascinating. The idea that, as a superclub, Madrid are just bypassing smaller teams in Spain or teams like Ajax or Benfica is absolutely wild. Most big clubs will claim they can’t sign some of these younger players who blossom into stars (like say Antony) because they aren’t ready for a big team in Europe and they need time to develop and the big club can’t afford that or offer it to them.

That might well be true in some cases but Madrid have proven repeatedly in the past few years that that notion might be complete and utter rubbish. Casemiro, Lucas Silva, Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo, Reinier and Take Kubo have all been signed from outside of Europe directly. There are strong reports that Palmeiras wonderkid Endrick might be next.

Sure some of these haven’t worked out, but you often make some or all of your money back, and when they do work out, it means that Madrid can save themselves amounts like €20-40 million. Just think of Liverpool and Darwin Nunez or how much a team is going to pay for Enzo Fernandez in a year or two. Plus signing a player so young develops a bond between player and club. Think Vinicius or Rodrygo want to play for anyone except for Real Madrid? Exactly.

Madrid, again contradicting the consensus, have put in a strong development system; either using loans, Castilla or first-team substitute appearances to move a player forward. They also stayed the course with these young players, putting faith in them when they stumbled early on. By doing so they cut out the middle man, a market inefficiency. That’s excellent business sense.

Speaking of business. Perez has shown remarkable restraint in the transfer market (for the most part) in recent years. In the 2016-17, 17-18, 20-21, 21-22 and 22-23 seasons, the arrivals were minimal and for the most part they were good signings. The splurges in 18-19 and 19-20 are a bit of an aberration but even in those chaotic windows there were successes. And when you have quieter windows in other years, you can afford those blips. For whatever reason, Perez no longer feels as if he must have a massive splash every window (maybe having almost total job security thanks to bylaws you re-wrote helps) and that’s benefiting the club.

Because that means that on the pitch there is a core that has been allowed to grow together. That’s why in those big moments in the Champions League there is no panic. So many of these players have been in these situations before with these team-mates, you can’t throw anything at them that will make them sweat. That’s why they’re so good. The gradual additions year on year rather than the continued overhaul we see at other clubs has kept a level of stability.

That is while making some bad choices in the dugout. The players were able to keep the ship afloat despite the failures of Julen Lopetegui and Santiago Solari. It is no surprise that the success has come under Carlo Ancelotti and Zinedine Zidane, managers who prefer to make smaller tactical tweaks and rely on man-management skills rather than intense micro-managing. The experience of this squad is unlike any dressing room in the world.

Off the field finances are looking pretty healthy (despite fear-mongering from Perez) and there is no big club who managed the pandemic better anywhere. The changes being made at the Bernabeu should be a boon to the club as well with an increase to matchday revenue. And despite the loss of Cristiano Ronaldo, there are still a host of extremely marketable players.

It is not a coincidence that since 2008, the players not called Ronaldo or Lionel Messi to win a Ballon d’Or are both from Real Madrid. This is a team that is synonymous with the award with 12 winners (level with Barcelona) and eight different victors, which is more than any other club. The way they influence the media is remarkable. If a Ballon d’Or is important to you as a player, you join Real Madrid, no questions asked.

Heck, even if it’s not, Real Madrid are the destination team in world football right now. They are well-run on and off the pitch, they have an incredible squad that is kept finely-tuned each year, and you know that you will be well looked after.

Really the only fault with Madrid is the club’s short-sighted obsession with the Super League and Perez’s bizarre paranoia over the supposed imminent death of football. Desperation from poorly run teams like Juventus or Barcelona is not surprising. But why on earth would Real Madrid want to rock the boat? It’s sailing in such smooth waters right now. Perez needs to be careful, and he needs to follow his own path in the transfer market. Sometimes you just need to let things stay as they are, too much change might be the beginning of your own downfall. Stay the course and stop trying to swerve imaginary icebergs, they’re all in your head, Florentino.