Real Madrid were unstoppable throughout the 2016/17 season. With their Champions League triumph, they made it back to back European titles, something no other team, let alone Barcelona, have been able to do. They also ended Barcelona’s dominance over the domestic league title on the final day of the season.
Real may not always perform, but they can grind out results like no other team in the world. They score late goals like no other team, giving everything until the final minute of each game and they’re slowly becoming one of the greatest sides ever.
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Here are five reasons why Real Madrid are now bigger than Barcelona:
#5 The managers
There is now a huge difference in the stature of the people in charge at both clubs. Zinedine Zidane is simply a much bigger name than Ernesto Valverde. Valverde did a fantastic job at Athletic Bilbao and nobody knows how successful he will be at Barcelona as manager. But right now, Zidane has two Champions League trophies and a La Liga title, something Valverde will find very hard in matching in the coming years.
Some people have claimed Zidane had been ‘lucky’ with the team he had inherited, but the victory against Juventus ruled out that allegation. His team performed magnificently and tore apart a side who had conceded just two goals in the competition prior to the final, scoring four against them in one game.
Valverde might yet go on to be one of Barcelona’s greatest manager’s but in terms of just names currently, Zidane makes Real Madrid look like a much bigger club.
#4 Champions League trophies
Real Madrid have now won three Champions League trophies in four years, an incredible achievement which makes them by far the best team in the world currently. Three Champions League wins in four years, having gone 12 years without a European trophy, is a testament to how good the Real team is.
Madrid have produced some wonderful performances in Europe in the past few seasons, a level Barcelona have been unable to reach. Additionally, Real Madrid have shown their ability to defend, something Barcelona often struggle with, as their 4-0 and 3-0 defeats to PSG and Juventus showed.
Barcelona have won five European trophies themselves but it is no comparison to Real Madrid’s record 12. Even though Barcelona have the edge domestically in recent years with more league titles, Madrid have the record in terms of European trophies, making them a much bigger club altogether.
#3 The tables have turned in the midfield talent
Real Madrid have an enormous amount of midfield depth with Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, Casemiro, Mateo Kovacic, Isco, and more. Barcelona have Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets who are both world class players, however their other midfield players include Denis Suarez, Andre Gomes and Rafinha, who have yet to establish themselves.
The Blaugrana have always been renown for having an incredible midfield that could run games, but they now have a real lack of depth and quality in midfield. They have struggled to replace Xavi and it was arguably a poor decision to allow Cesc Fabregas to go to Chelsea when he could have flourished in a midfield role for the Catalans.
Now, Real are becoming the side who are able to control the midfield against teams and have a huge amount of depth for when any of their midfielders get injured. On the other hand, if Barcelona were to lose Busquets and Iniesta to injury, they would struggle to find replacements.
Finally, Real Madrid’s midfield dominance in the Champions League final against a team who Barcelona failed to make any sort of impact against in midfield perfectly illustrates how far ahead Madrid are in midfield.
#2 Real Madrid’s financial power
Real Madrid have much greater financial power than Barcelona. The Galacticos can sign whoever they please with no financial burden on them as their signings of Gareth Bale, James Rodriguez, Cristiano Ronaldo and even as far back as Zidane show how they have always been able to spend big. Barcelona have been able to spend on certain players such as Luis Suarez and Neymar, but they’re unable to spend as much as Real have.
Being able to spend more on talent will obviously make one team bigger than the other. Both Real Madrid and Barcelona are great clubs to play for, but if one is more financially strong, the team with more money will probably be more successful. Madrid are rumoured to be interested in Kylian Mbappe, which would again prove how financially capable they are. His price tag would be over €100 million, ruling Barcelona out of the race for the French talent.
There have also been rumours Barcelona are struggling to pay the enormous contracts that their front three get, further emphasising how bad their financial situation is in comparison to Real Madrid and showing how Madrid are now a bigger and better club than Barcelona.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo
There are many arguments to suggest that Cristano Ronaldo is not better than Lionel Messi, and many of those arguments are plausible. However, the Ballon d’Or results show that currently, Ronaldo is the best player in the world. After winning the Euro 2016, Champions League, and the La Liga title, it seems obvious that Ronaldo will pick up the award once again.
Messi stole the headlines in the game between the two sides near the end of the season, but Ronaldo does not stop scoring, and he always produces in the big games, contrary to popular belief. He has undoubtedly been the best player in the world this past season.
Also read: Pele picks between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi
What has been special this season is that Ronaldo has adapted his game under the tutelage of Zidane and has become a brilliant player in the box.
There are rumours circulating that Ronaldo wants to leave Real Madrid, but nothing has been confirmed. However, as long as Madrid have Ronaldo and he holds the Ballon d’Or, it will always be a reason why Real are now bigger than Barcelona, and Cristiano better than Messi.
