Sports

Former Real Madrid director delivers damning assessment of the current situation – ‘The team has no leaders’

January 15, 2026

Story byFormer Real Madrid director delivers damning assessment of the current situation – ‘The team has no leaders’Madrid UniversalThu, January 15, 2026 at 8:35 AM UTC·2 min readFormer Real Madrid forward and sporting director Predrag Mijatovic has delivered a brutally honest assessment of Real Madrid’s shocking Copa del Rey exit at the hands of Albacete. The defeat, which came on a night that was supposed to mark a fresh start under Alvaro Arbeloa, instead deepened the sense of crisis engulfing the club. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMadrid’s elimination was not an isolated incident. It followed the loss of the Spanish Super Cup to Barcelona and the dismissal of Xabi Alonso, all within a span of just four days. Assessment from former forwardSpeaking about the situation, Mijatovic offered a clear explanation of how Madrid allowed themselves to fall into this trap.“In four days, Real Madrid has lost two titles and a coach. This match comes after losing the Super Cup to their eternal rivals.

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Key Highlights

“You change coaches, the players think they’re playing against an inferior team, that they’re going to take it easy, and this happens.
Real Madrid have crashed out of Copa del Rey.
(Photo by Denis Doyle/)AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“In this situation, the only people who can change the course of events are not the coach or the president.
It’s the players.
There’s no other way to fix it,” said the former footballer. Problems at Real MadridMijatovic then went even deeper, identifying what he believes is the most worrying issue of all, which is the absence of a true leader.“I would be more relaxed if there were a Kroos, a Modric, a Ramos, a leader, an old guard in the dressing room who, at a certain moment, would take the young players aside and try to turn things around.”Driving home his concern, he concluded, “Right now, it’s a team that doesn’t have a specific leader, regardless of what Xabi or Arbeloa think.

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Former Real Madrid director delivers damning assessment of the current situation – ‘The team has no leaders’

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