Former Real Madrid sporting director Predrag Mijatovic believes one of Kylian Mbappe or Vinicius Jr needs to be sold this summer for the club to move forward.
It has been a woeful season for Madrid who will end it without a trophy and in crisis, both on the field and in the boardroom.
Widespread reports of dressing room discord have circulated for months and seemed to be confirmed following a training ground fracas between midfielders Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni that left the Uruguay international hospitalised.
Incumbent Florentino Perez then called a surprise presidential election on Tuesday night and launched a furious tirade against both Barcelona and the assembled media at a hastily arranged press conference.
Barca retained the Liga title on Sunday night with a routine 2-0 defeat of Madrid at Camp Nou, a game Mbappe missed through injury, and Mijatovic believes the France star cannot co-exist with Vinicius Jr if Los Blancos are to challenge for major honours next season.
“Maybe we do have to seriously consider selling one of the two. Really,” Mijatovic, who was sporting director at the Bernabeu between 2006 and 2009, told Cadena Ser.
“You have to make that decision, with the new coach, with the sporting structure, and think about who. Closing your eyes and saying, ‘both of you stay’, is a tremendous mistake. That’s why soccer is such a complicated sport, because you have to make very difficult decisions.
“And sometimes, over the first six months, they will criticise you. And you can make mistakes, but you have to change, because if you don’t change, things don’t get better.”
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Mijatovic believes Mourinho is the right man for Real Madrid
Current coach Alvaro Arbeloa will leave the club at the end of the season with Jose Mourinho odds-on favourite to return for a second spell in the Spanish capital.
Putting Mourinho into an already combustible situation appears a risk but Mijatovic believes it would be a shrewd move.
“I am very much with [the decision to appoint] Mourinho,” added Mijatovic, who also enjoyed a successful playing career with Madrid, including scoring the only goal in the 1998 Champions League final win over Juventus.
“I have always believed that it is not a coach problem [at Madrid], but of the players themselves.
“I think that, after two barren years, it’s time to make difficult decisions and this summer we have to make a lot of changes. We have to think, perhaps, about selling some players who are idols right now. You have to make changes because you are forced to win.”
Riquelme should wait to launch Real Madrid presidential campaign – Mijatovic
Perez’s decision to call a snap election caught everyone by surprise but left potential rivals with little time to prove their credentials.
Despite that, 37-year-old businessman Enrique Riquelme is believed to be assessing his options and whether he wishes to stand.
Mijatovic thinks Riquelme could be a Real Madrid president in the future but does not believe now is the right time.
He said: “I know Enrique Riquelme very well, him and his father, who was on the board of directors (under Ramon Calderon) when I was Madrid’s sporting director. Enrique is a young businessman who has done many important things, and does not hide that he wants to be president of Real Madrid one day.
“Has that day already arrived? I don’t think so. Calling early elections leaves very little time to make a serious campaign. And he’s young, so he has plenty of time. If I were him, I wouldn’t be in any hurry, because you’re also fighting Florentino Pérez.”
Madrid return to action tonight with a home game against already relegated Oviedo.
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