Florentino Pérez is forced into making important changes at Madrid
The heavy defeat against Atletico was the last straw and now the president is set to take control of the club's planning
Time and patience have run out at Real Madrid. The folders of papers on Florentino Perez's desk, which have been abandoned for the last couple of weeks, are now in urgent need of organising.
The heavy, embarrassing defeat to Atletico Madrid which brought an end to their United States tour has seen Perez forced into action. Drastic decision must be taken in order for Real Madrid to be ready for the 2019/20 season. No one wants a repeat of last year's disaster class.
First up is finalising the futures of players who aren't part of Zidane's plans. Gareth Bale, James Rodriguez and Mariano Diaz are all in the departures lounge waiting for the flight out of the club. They must be sold in order to fund a move for Manchester United's Paul Pogba.
Bale is on the verge of signing for Jiangsu Suning. However, this deal is only expected to bring in €20m for Madrid with most savings coming from the fact they'll no longer need to cover his €17m per season wages.
James is wanted by Atletico and Napoli but Perez is trying to convince Zidane that the Colombian international could be a good option to cover Marco Asensio's absence.
There are more concerns when it comes to Mariano. The striker doesn't want to leave, despite failing to feature at all during the preseason tour, and his high wages are proving a stumbling block for the teams who are interested in him.
United are refusing to budge on their valuation of Pogba which means Madrid must raise funds if they are to complete a transfer.
