Real Madrid: Major Issues Zinedine Zidane Must Address Next Season

Real Madrid have now won the Champions League a record 13 times. The second closest club to them in terms of wins is AC Milan with 7 titles and they have not even qualified for next season's tournament. Los Blancos look like they would take some stopping in Europe and are already strong favorites for next year's competition too.

But, amidst the celebrations, it is easy to forget that Real struggled domestically, both in La Liga and the Copa Del Rey - trophies that their arch-rivals Barcelona took home without much competition.

We take a look at three major issues Zinedine Zidane needs to address this summer so that he can lead his team to their second La Liga title under him in next year's campaign.

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#1 Resolve Cristiano Ronaldo's future at Real Madrid

Ronaldo was very outspoken about his future after the Champions League final

When Cristiano Ronaldo spoke after the final of the Champions League, he made it clear to both Zinedine Zidane and Florentino Perez that if his contract demands are not met, he has no problem in moving on from the Santiago Bernabeu to pastures anew.

While players being outspoken and rebellious in their wage demands is nothing new in football, it certainly raises eyebrows when a player, who is currently the holder of the Ballon d'Or and, is on paper, the best player in the world, does the same.

Few would blame Ronaldo for seeking wage parity with the likes of Neymar Jr and Lionel Messi. The Portuguese forward could be forgiven for thinking that he has earned that right, banging in 40+ goals every season even after being branded as "finished" and being on course to win the Ballon d'Or for a record sixth time.

But Zidane and Perez are not wrong either. They have to put the team first and try to sign players of Neymar's class who are both young and game-changing talents. Ronaldo is now 33 years old and, even though he has not exactly faded into the shadows, he isn't as prolific as he was earlier and not at an age where Perez could build a team around him.

This issue has dragged on for quite a while now, especially since Lionel Messi penned a lucrative new contract at Barcelona. It has done the dressing room no good, with senior players like Sergio Ramos asking Ronaldo to clarify what he meant by his comments after the final in Kyiv.

Zidane needs to have a clear thought process now; about whether he wants Ronaldo to stay or leave, and not let this hinder his preparation for next season.

#2 Sign a new striker to replace Karim Benzema

Karim Benzema is not the force-to-reckon-with that he once was

Karim Benzema's struggles on the pitch are clear for everyone to see except Zidane, who continues to trust the Frenchman and starts him in every big game. The striker is clearly past his best now, with this season's tally of 5 goals from 32 games in La Liga being his poorest return since he joined Los Blancos.

He scored a meagre 12 goals in 47 games in all competitions this season, a return that does not warrant a starting berth in a Real Madrid squad that challenges on all fronts every season.

Benzema has been consistently under-performing since the past two seasons and should make way for a new striker in the team. There were some arguments about whether Alvaro Morata should have been kept at the club but the Spaniard put that debate to bed himself with his lacklustre performances for Chelsea this season.

With Gareth Bale also looking like he will move on to another club in the summer, the goalscoring burden is in fear of being solely on Cristiano Ronaldo's shoulders (should he stay) next season.

Experienced players such as Robert Lewandowski and Sergio Aguero are up for grabs if the right offer is made and Zidane needs to take a brave call and drop his compatriot from the team.

#3 Bring experienced backup players to the squad

Zidane needs to sign able replacements for his star players

When Zidane sanctioned the sales of Pepe, James Rodriguez (on loan to Bayern Munich), Mariano Diaz, Alvaro Morata, and Fabio Coentrao before the start of last season, he lost something valuable apart from the individual talent that each of the aforementioned players possesses: valuable experience.

In the 2016/17 title-winning season, a strong factor that helped Real Madrid in winning La Liga was the fact that they had a very strong bench to call upon from when needed. This gave Zidane the liberty to rotate his squad before each Champions League match and give his main players a rest while the others got a run out and got the job done.

These backup players had a huge hand in winning the trophy, with the likes of Morata and James chipping in with goals and assists when needed. The presence of Pepe, Nacho, and Coentrao allowed Ramos, Marcelo, Varane, and Carvajal to rest before big matches in the Champions League.

A number of young players were brought in to replace the group of players that left, but they lacked the experience of changing games on their own despite possessing the quality.

If Zidane is to keep up with his policy of rotating the squad in the league, he needs to bring in experienced backups to his star players, be it due to injury or when he wants to rest them.