Armando Perez: Latino Libre

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16/07/2025

Neymar has completed the permanent transfer to Real Madrid as Los Blancos continues their rebuild. The 33 year old Brazilian superstar joins from PSG for €75,000,000, having spent 8 years in France.

Not many people in the world will not know who Neymar is, having been a household name for years. He made his professional debut for Santos in 2009, making his Brazil debut in 2010, becoming the most coveted player in world football. Neymar joined Barcelona for €59,000,000 in 2013, with the transfer deal heavily investigated as the Catalonian club allegedly conducting the transfer illegaly.

Neymar decided to move to PSG in 2017 to become the biggest name of the team, for a world record €222,000,000. Since arriving in Paris, he has since played alongside Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi (again) and Erling Haaland. He now joins Real Madrid on his next adventure.

Critics have raised concern that Neymar has signed just a one year contract, but there are likely to be clauses allowing the club to extend it should they wish. Neymar will join a star-studded team which includes fellow Brazil teammate Vinícius Júnior, and recent arrival Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Real Madrid have also confirmed the signing of Asier Gil from Athletic Bilbao for €46,000,000. The 18 year old attacker is one of the highest rated youngsters in world football and Real Madrid likely see him as a long-term member of their attack.

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Transfers

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Outgoing:
There was a massive clearout to make space in the squad and generate some additional funds. Grillitsch, Alaba, Iglesias, Pavard, Casemiro, Gudjohnsen, N. Jovic, Reinier and Sabitzer all left for new clubs. This freed up a significant amount of wage budget - particularly with Casemiro and Alaba gone. They were all good players but Armando Pérez was looking at bringing in great players.

Incoming:
The signings of Trent Alexander-Arnold were well documented and added plenty of star factor to the club. It was quite clear that players of their quality would (somehow) elevate Real Madrid to a higher modern echelon, while Asier Gil was one for the future. But - they were just the beginning.

Aihen Muñoz joined from Real Sociedad for €17,500,000. The hard-working 27 year old Spaniard well deputise at left back, for first-choice Ferland Mendy. Muñoz adds tactical discipline and a well-rounded technical and physical set, as well as being home grown.


Unai Simón came into the club to replace André Onana, who will be leaving this window. Simón is Spain's first choice and cost Real €57,000,000 to join from RBL. The 28 year old will provide competition for Courtois, with the long-term expectation of becoming Real Madrid's starter in future campaigns.


There was also the signing of little-known Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk for €29,000,000 from Liverpool....

Results

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A game against Inter came before mini-tours of South Korea and Los Angeles.

Real Madrid Squad

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Squad was stacked - sensational players in every single position. The only squads comparable in the rest of the world were PSG, Man City and Chelsea. This Real Madrid team was ready to battle for every single trophy. With the additions of the likes of Neymar, Trent and van Dijk - Pérez also promoted youngsters Juanvi Calvete and Takuhiro Nakai to the senior squad. They were bright talents.

LaLiga

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Unsurprisingly - Real Madrid were heavy favourites. Champions Villarreal were 4th favourites, while Barcelona and Atlético were also considered to be in the mix. However, the bookies were not looking beyond a comfortable Real trophy parade.

Upcoming Fixtures

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The Armando Pérez Real Madrid era was to start with an away game to Celta Vigo. The first Clásico was scheduled for October, while the first Madrid derby was scheduled for September. Pérez would have to wait until January for his first game against former team Villarreal.

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16/08/2025

Armando, your first game as Real Madrid manager comes tomorrow. Does it get any better than this?

"Let's wait until we have some trophies in the bag before we celebrate this moment. It is - of course - incredibly exciting that we can finally get started but we can't afford to sit back and take too much notice right now. There's a lot of work to do and a lot of games to be played. Let's celebrate at the end of the season."

Your previous relationship with Real Madrid was terminated following a rocky relationship with Florentino Pérez and Cristiano Ronaldo. Is there still any resentment towards the club for removing you from your post as assistant to Carlo Ancelotti?

"No. Florentino and Cristiano are gone and they're never coming back. Their relationships with Real Madrid are over forever . Perhaps I wouldn't have taken this job if either were here but they are not, so we don't need to think about it. The past is behind me and I'm ready to start my own legacy here, and hopefully none of the players fuck my wife this time."

Neymar, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk all joined this summer. Is this a new era of Los Galácticos?

"Call it what you want, it doesn't mean too much to me. We've an incredible of squad of players and we'll be looking to add more new faces over the next few seasons as we look to build on this summer. This is only the start of a project and we have plenty of players on our shortlist for future windows."

Real Madrid reportedly had a bid accepted for Villarreal captain Pau Torres but the played opted to stay at the club. Is his decision a set-back for Real?

"Normally I wouldn't speak about players from other clubs but our interest in him is well-documented. Having worked with him for two years I can safely say he is one of the best defenders in the world and we want to work with the best. I respect his decision to stay but I would, of course, love to work with him again in the future."

What is the target for this season?

"Trophies."

Is it that simple?

"Ultimately that is what this team will be remembered for, so it's what we have to aim for. We need to win as many trophies as possible. One or two trophies won't do much to change Real Madrid's history - this club has won quite a few trophies, if you didn't know. To leave our own legacy we need to win a ridiculous amount of trophies. That has to be our aim."

Is that putting unneccessary pressure on the squad?

"Ridiculous question. Every player and manager in the world wants to be in a position where they're expected to win the big trophies. This is where we want to be so we need to show we deserve to have those expectations. There's no space for players who can't handle being at a big club. We already got rid of players this summer for that reason, and Onana is leaving soon too."

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Transfers

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Outgoing:
André Onana left for €12,000,000 to join Juventus. He was only a backup for Real Madrid and the arrival of Unai Simón spelled the end of Onana's career at a top club. Youngster Edgar Pujol left on loan.

Results

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LaLiga:
A 3-0 win away to Celta Vigo started the Armando Pérez era, with Vinícius Júnior and Neymar already proving key players. Real Madrid maintained a 16-1-0 record in their opening 17 league games of the season. The one draw came away to Atlético Madrid, while Real secured an El Clásico win over Barcelona at the Bernabéu. Tactical familiarity intensified later on into the year, and this showed in the results with 26 goals scored in the final 6 league games of 2025.

UEFA Champions League:
5-1-0 record for Real Madrid in the group stage as they dominated a group that had RB Leipzig, Ajax and Nice. The only draw was away to Nice, while there were plenty of goals in the other games.

Real Madrid Player Stats

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Courtois and Simón shared the minutes fairly evenly, with Courtois playing 1 more game. Both impressed, with Simón just edging the clean sheet count (9 vs 8).

Bremer, Militao, Badiashile and van Dijk were all playing regularly and impressing, rotating between the back three positions. Nacho was a decent cover for these four. Bremer's ability to score from set-piece situations was shining.

Trent Alexander-Arnold's reputation as a creative force translated well to Spanish football, with the Englishman on 6 assists so far, and probably should have had more had the attackers taken more chances. Mendy was also impressive on the left, with 4 assists to his name.

Armando Pérez had every intention of easing Toni Kroos out of the starting lineup but the German was sensational, scoring and assisting a combined 9 times. He kept Camavinga out of the team regularly, with Valverde preferred alongside him.

The attack was on fire, largely in part to the Brazilian contingent. Neymar had 18 goals and 5 assists, Malcom had 13 goals and 5 assists, Viní had 8 goals and 9 assists. Coman was the most promising of the rest, while Jovic failed to impress and Gil was only still a developing teenager.

LaLiga

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The vast amounts of money spent in the summer was paying dividends in the league, with Real Madrid's 49 points putting them comfortably on top. Pérez's former club Villarreal were the nearest challengers, on 41, while Barcelona were in third place with 36. 5 goals conceded by Real so far was remarkable, while the 46 scored was expected to increase exponentially now that the Real team were integrating well to Pérez's system.

Neymar's league-high 16 goals was a large contributor to Real's success. Returning to LaLiga, following a stint in Paris, Neymar proved why he's one of the greatest of all time. Moukoko's 13 earned him with the media linking him to Real Madrid, and a reunion with Armando Pérez. Could a move for him happen?!?

UEFA Champions League Group B

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Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich was the biggest tie of the round to look forward to, while Man City would face off against Barcelona and Chelsea against PSG. Big games all around.

Upcoming Fixtures

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2026 would begin with a home game against Real Sociedad, before Supercopa action against Barcelona. There were games against Villarreal and a Copa del Rey tie in an exciting month of January, while Champions League games against Bayern Munich were also on the horizon. The second El Clásico game of the LaLiga season was scheduled at the end of March, and Real Madrid would finish the LaLiga campaign away to Pérez's former club Villarreal, at the end of May.

How many trophies would Real Madrid be celebrating in six months time?

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Real Madrid Player Youth Intake

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Decent intake. Jacobo looked the brightest. The young goalkeeper was already an expert shot stopper with a good mentality. Future goalkeeper for Real?

Results

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LaLiga:
A 5-3 win over Real Sociedad set the tone for 2026, with Real showing that they were ready for war in the new year. This was followed up with an even more impressive 2-0 win over reigning champions Villarreal. The goals, and wins, kept coming until March when Real succumbed to 0-0 draws against Sevilla and Atlético Madrid. But the wins returned, and included a 2-1 win over Barcelona, where Neymar scored before being sent off for two-footing John Stones (nothing wrong with that in my opinion).

UEFA Champions League:
Bayern Munich were expected to be an incredibly tough opponent and the Germans inflicted Pérez's first defeat as Real Madrid manager. However, a Neymar hat trick in the second leg saw Real progress to the quarter finals.

Copa del Rey:
Wins, wins, wins. The highlight was a semi final victory over Atlético, with Real beating them in both legs. A place in the final awaits.

Supercopa:
A Viní goal separated Real and Barca in the semi finals, and Real went on to win the trophy in January with a 2-1 win over Villarreal - Armando Pérez's first trophy as Real Madrid manager.

Real Madrid Player Stats

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29 clean sheets in 44 games between Courtois and Simón showed just how good the goalkeeping unit at Real Madrid was. Courtois was expected to feature more prominently with the showpiece games around the corner.

Monstrous from the Real defensive unit. Militao, van Dijk and Bremer had become the regular starting trio at the back and their incredible performances have drained the hope out of opposition attackers.

Trent's creativity had slowed down in recent months, but he did create the winner against Barca at the Camp Nou, so maybe he can carry that form on into the final months of the season.

Kroos was in Kroos control in midfield, dictating everything positive thatg Real did. Valverde picked up a knock in January which kept him out for a number of weeks. His absence was definitely noticed, with Camavinga and Bennacer not quite at the level of the Uruguayan.

Neymar. 41 goals and 11 assists with two months to play was right up there in prime Messi/Ronaldo territory. The others were also chipping in, in particular Malcom, while youngster Asier Gil was starting to show some good end product.

LaLiga

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Three draws were the only blemishes on an otherwise near-perfect league season to date. The league title was pretty much wrapped up with 9 games to go - Real Madrid a staggering 14 points clear of Barcelona. Just 10 goals conceded in 29 games demonstrated the prowess of Pérez's system, while 81 scored was equally impressive.

Neymar lead the scoring charts with 29 LaLiga goals. Not bad for an old man.

UEFA Champions League