The popularity contest that is the race for presidency at Real Madrid might lead to an expensive and needless purchase just to satisfy the fans, with David Silva of Manchester City looking to be the player the fans want the club to bring next season.
Florentino Perez doesn’t just need to run the club, but he also needs to keep his position at the top of the pyramid. Is his new Galacticos era a success? With only one league title and no Champions League trophy, the 10th, entering the Real Madrid cabinet, it’s hard to call it that. In order to satisfy the voters, he needs to promise and fulfill the wishes of fans, who voted David Silva as the player they want the most to join the team next season.
David Silva himself claimed he rejected moves to Barcelona and Real Madrid before choosing Manchester City. It had something to do with the salary City were willing to pay, but also Valencia hoping Silva doesn’t leave to a La Liga team, acting as a feeder club to the two giants of the league. Silva has been a success in England, but like Manchester City this season, his form and has been going up & down, often struggling to create space and operate efficiently in the no-wings system under Roberto Mancini.
Last season, leading City to their first title in over 40 years, Silva was one of the best players in the Premier League, especially during the first half of the season, ending scoring 6 goals and adding 15 assists. This year? Things have been a bit harder on the creative side, scoring three goals so far, adding 5 assists. There is a notion that the City project might not look so lucrative anymore after being knocked out in the group stage of the Champions League and currently looking not even remotely close to challenge for the league title.
It’s hard to see how Silva fits the plans of a lineup that includes Mesut Ozil in it, but building a team in Real Madrid has never been about positions, it’s been about style. Perez brings the big names to get the fans’ approval, and it is the manager’s job to make the most of the most expensive squad in the world. If it doesn’t work, you can always blame the head coach.