COMMENT: He should've sold Sergio Ramos. Last summer, Florentino Perez should've accepted Manchester United's offer and called Ramos' bluff.
It would've been a statement. No player was above the club. There's no player on the planet that Real Madrid need.
Instead, Florentino indulged himself. Happy to embarrass United's rookie executive Ed Woodward and secure Ramos to a new deal. But this wasn't about Ramos. This was about player power and the attitude of the locker room.
Now, today, it's no stretch to describe the place as a shambles. This is no institution that Florentino presides over. This is a comedy series. Week-after-week, month-after-month, this great club's reputation made a mockery.
A score draw at Valencia - with ten-men - is a decent point for Real. But the result, just as it's been all season, is an afterthought in this running farce.
'VALBUENA! VALBUENA!' chanted the home fans as Karim Benzema was substituted. The Mestalla crowd happily mocked Real's No9. With an investigation over his alleged role in a blackmail plot against France teammate Mathieu Valbuena continues, Los Che fans showed no mercy. Oh, sorry, scratch that. That should be former France teammate, as Les Bleus have suspended Benzema from selection while the case continues. But at least he's still getting a game for Real...
Sitting in the away dugout, for the full 90, was James Rodriguez. On New Year's Day, the Colombian brought the Madrid police to the club's gate. Literally. James, allegedly speeding, ignored the police (apparently he was playing his music too loud to hear the sirens) and led them through local streets in a high speed chase.
So, we've had one Real player spend time in a French police cell this season. And another chased around town by Spanish cops. Helluva of an organisation you're running Florentino...
And that's not to mention Real are out of the Copa del Rey - thanks to fielding the ineligible Denis Cheryshev. Plus there's Isco openly mocking Benitez's team selection on global television. And the exchange of insults between home fans and Cristiano Ronaldo in victory over Rayo Vallecano. This wasn't banter. This was nasty, ugly stuff. But nothing out of the norm for Florentino's Real this season.
The demise of Real's reputation, however, isn't Florentino's responsibility alone.
The idea this group of senior players, when they talk about "respecting" the history of Real and "honouring" the shirt, actually believe in what they're saying is becoming more and more fanciful. There's no Raul in this locker room. No Iker Casillas or Zinedine Zidane.
Has anyone inside the dressing room actually pulled Isco aside and explained to him the ramifications of his antics with Toni Kroos last month? That it isn't the coach he's mocking; that he's putting himself above the club's reputation by allowing the world to see such dissent? And what of James? Has Ronaldo or Ramos spoken with him since his racing antics? Ronaldo was happy to play up to the cameras with a 'steering wheel' parody on Saturday. But what about actually making sure his young teammate doesn't drag the club through the mud again? Did he see his way clear of doing that?
This is what's baffling. Surely, if Ramos can't see it, Ronaldo can. The place is a shambles. The players are running amok. Nothing's going to be achieved when some won't even take personal responsibility for whether they're suspended for a game or not. Is Ronaldo really happy being a passenger in this farce?
Tuesday there's a Real Madrid board meeting. And despite four points from two games since the winter recess, there's a real feeling Benitez could be sacked. Emilio Butragueno, among Real's directors, refused to deny the claims last night.
But changing coach isn't the answer. Benitez's replacement would find himself in the same predicament. A locker room run wild and powder-puff leadership coming from the top.
You can say this about Florentino - he hasn't been MIA this season. Every issue, he's publicly addressed. But that seems to be it. An appeasing word. But no action. How can you suggest otherwise as Real lurches from one drama to the next?
Florentino needs to take a stand. He should've done so back in June when he took that call from Woodward.
A message needs to be sent to the locker room. Otherwise this comedy-farce is going to be awarded a second season run.
