Their Champions League final run aside, Real Madrid have endured an average campaign on the whole particularly given their domestic disappointment.
With two games remaining in La Liga, Los Blancos sit 18 points adrift of champions Barcelona, while they also saw their rivals lift the Copa del Rey too.
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They’ve managed to salvage their campaign by reaching the Champions League final in Kiev later this month, but it would come as no surprise if their shortcomings resulted in changes to the squad this summer in order to ensure that they can compete on various fronts next year.
Karim Benzema has managed just 11 goals in 44 appearances, Gareth Bale has struggled to establish himself in the starting line-up on a regular basis while Cristiano Ronaldo, as impressive as he has been again this season, will turn 34 next year.
In turn, the attacking third is where Madrid arguably need to act to establish a long-term plan, and Sky Sports pundit Guillem Balague believes that they’re strategically ‘putting pressure’ on Paris Saint-Germain to sell Neymar.
“Real Madrid are doing all they can to put pressure on PSG to sell,” he wrote in his Sky Sports Q&A. “They do not want to sell and have not put a price on him, but a figure of €260m has emerged, and that figure comes from Real Madrid. They are trying to circulate the idea that he is for sale but that is not the case.
“Real Madrid are trying hard for this to happen, even though it is very, very unlikely. Real Madrid want to sign three or four top players this summer.”
It remains to be seen if their methods work or not, as Neymar has enjoyed a successful first season in France with a domestic treble, while scoring 28 goals and providing 19 assists in 30 appearances.
However, as noted by Marca, speculation over his future is rife and reports continue to link him with an exit from PSG. It remains to be seen if Real Madrid are the benefactors or not this summer while as noted by Balague above, they could be very busy in the market in general to bolster their squad.