The Spanish press have already decided that Real Madrid coach Manuel Pellegrini’s is a dead man walking following Wednesday night’s Champions League exit.
This, despite director general Jorge Valdano issuing a vote of confidence in the Chilean.
Terms such as “failure”, “catastrophe” and “nightmare” filled the newspapers in the wake of Real’s 2-1 aggregate defeat to French side Lyon.
Madrid-based Marca believes the coach’s exit is imminent, with their front page announcing: “OUT. Goodbye Champions, Goodbye Pellegrini.”
It continued inside: “The same upset as every year. Madrid again go crashing against the curse of the last-16. Lyon join Juventus, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Roma and Liverpool in the list of executioners.”
Rival Madrid daily AS’s front page read: “Catastrophe. Madrid couldn’t overcome Lyon, not even in the Bernabeu.” Inside the paper discussed how the “failure” and “nightmare” continues for Madrid and how Lyon deserved to go through.
El Pais refererred to the lavish amounts that Madrid spent last summer following the return of Florentino Perez to the club presidency.
In a bid to take Madrid back to the top of the domestic and European game, the club spent in the region of £240 million on new players – including a world-record £80 million on Cristiano Ronaldo.
El Pais continued: “Lyon question the realism of the mega-project of Florentino Perez and Madrid, who ran out of steam in the second half, fell for the sixth successive season in the last-16. Titles are not bought, they are won.”
Barcelona-based El Mundo Deportivo raised the possibility of Madrid’s arch rivals Barca defending their European crown at the Bernabeu in May.
“Madrid will not be in the Bernabeu final! Failure of Florentino’s project, incapable of overcoming the last-16 of the Champions League for the sixth successive year. Barca’s dream of winning their fourth European Cup in Chamartin (Bernabeu) grows.”
