Real Madrid surprised with the timing of Karim Benzema’s departure? | ESPN FC

Luis Garcia is with us as well. Luis, what's the vibe in Spain with Benzema making that decision to leave? Well, for me, the most important, guys, is that it surprised me that he said 24 hours before that, no, that was only rumours, that that's not something that maybe wasn't going to happen. Then, 24 hours after, he just decided that he was leaving, that he was going to move out far from Real Madrid. And I think that kind of got everybody in shock, because Benzema has been a key player this season, of course, for the past few years, but definitely, everybody was counting on him for the transition period that is going to be Real Madrid in the next coming months, or probably years, because if you see that Benzema is going to go, Hazard, Mariano, Asensio, and probably Nacho and even some more players, Real Madrid is going to have to make a big investment. Any kind of player who can score 24 goals plus every single season is going to give you a chance of winning a trophy. If you have to share that in all the positions, it's not going to be easy. But there's not many players like this one. Harry Kane is one of them, but he's been wanted for quite a few clubs in the past few years, and they have always found it very tricky to take him away from Tottenham. You know that the chairman is very difficult to deal with, and now it's Manchester United. He's been linked also with the move for the players, so it's going to be a big fight. But again, I heard also that Kai Havertz could be another player, but it's a totally different player. I'm not sure if the people are going to be happy with Kai Havertz just moving on to Real Madrid, because definitely not the style of player that Real Madrid needs at the moment. Let's welcome in, shall we, now, Citizen Vigo, because at the top of the hour we have those five games, of course, all being played at the same time. Decide who will be going down to the Segunda at the end of the day. Sid, before we look ahead to Selda Vigo against Barcelona, I want to get your thoughts on Benzema. How much did this surprise Real Madrid? I don't think it surprised them, in the sense that I don't think it surprised them that this was on his mind, that this was something he was contemplating, because he's been thinking about it for quite a while. I think he was relatively direct with them in terms of saying, this is what I would like to do, this is what I'm planning to do. I think the surprise came maybe that it's for right now. And now we have a fun summer, Sid, discussing who's going to come and replace him. Oh, what joy! That's what we want, isn't it, to be spending the summer speculating over this. And again, you know, let's go back to that timing. As you say, we've now got that summer of speculation, partly because Real Madrid's planning was all built around the idea that maybe Mbappé becomes available in 2024. We just need to bridge the gap to there. Of course, they've brought Hendrik as well, who is a player that they think will be absolutely brilliant up front, but I think he's now just turned 17. You know, this is someone you're going to need time for. So the timings of this are not quite right. And as you say, that now puts us into this period of speculation, which is, who do you get in the meantime? What does that mean for your long-term planning? Because if your long-term planning is about Mbappé, what kind of player do you get in now? What kind of age of player do you get in now? And how do you make all of those pieces fit together? Meanwhile, of course, Luis, we saw Eden Hazard and Real Madrid come to the agreement that he can leave the club with a year left on his contract. It's interesting hearing stories from those who have played with him before, saying that he was never a player who was committed in training. So was this a case of just age catching up with him because of that? And should Real Madrid have done due diligence on that before paying that huge transfer fee for him? Of course, you have to do that kind of due diligence before you assign a player. Try to see the surrounding, what the people are talking about, the players who are next to him, because they are the ones who can tell you the real thing that happens in the team, because you only see what is happening on the weekend or on the games. And there are players who can perform very well on the weekends and maybe not that well on the training. But when you are young, your body just keeps on going. It doesn't matter how you deal with it. These days, the players have been treated so well, they've been taken care of very well. So you kind of think that a player can last maybe until 33, 34. We've seen players at the highest level. But if you don't look after yourself, not every player is the same. And much more when players' best strengths are speed, ability, and power. And of course, if you don't look after that, and then start getting problems with injuries, and then start problems with the manager not counting with you, and that circle is very difficult to get out. And I think that Hazard not having the habit, the routine of looking after himself, arrived at this moment that even though I don't think that he's got older or very old, he could be playing for quite a long more time, that catch up with him, and at the moment it's very difficult to see him performing on a regular basis at a high level. So I think it's a pity because we are missing a very, very good player that I think Real Madrid could have used a lot more if all kinds of things were put together well.