OPEN THREAD — Company Man: 28 Jan. 2026

Welcome to The Daily Merengue — a place where you can feel free to discuss all things football. Do not be alarmed by the overt RMCF bias. It’s in the name!

Shoutout to the Mods who do a fantastic job, Valyrian Steel, Ezek XI, KungFuZizou, NeRObutBlanco, Felipejack, and Juninho.

A Collection of Memos

Writer’s Prelude. Today’s memo will be more traditional than most Juninho memos as there’s just simply less to say.

To: MM

“I knew Kaspar intimately. He didn’t know the first thing about me, but he needed me. Twenty-year relationship. I was who he wanted me to be. Just tell them what they need to hear to survive the day. Make yourself big in your life, Rob. They’ll fall in love with you.” – Clement

Company Man. I think everyone who is employed or has been understands and has wrestled with the importance of being a “company man.” Even on MM, I think it at times has been something I’ve wrestled with as a moderator / writer. Whether it’s more impactful and significant to strictly play the role that was given or to be authentically myself. Is it better to just mandate a mask of optimism to better “facilitate discussion” or is the better role to be “a boogeyman” of sorts — saying what to be frank many aren’t allowed to say? Idk – you’ll all be a better judge than me. But today’s DT in remembrance of Jose Mourinho (who we will face today in the CL) will simply be another attempt for me to be me.

Yesterday’s Take. Yesterday, I somewhat abruptly and passionately said the following “Even if Arbeloa wins the double (La Liga / CL), I’d sack him…” And now that some time has passed, I’ve luckily been able to better explain how I feel or what I mean by this statement. (Trigger warning: if you only care about results then this likely isn’t the DT for you.)

Sack Arbeloa. Before really diving into this, I guess I’ll first need to convince you all or at least hope that we can come to an agreement on a narrative timeline. First, Carlo Ancelotti did not win a major trophy (CL / CDR / La Liga) in the 24/25 season. Second, Carlo Ancelotti is a relatively different manager than Xabi Alonso when it comes to not only tactics but personality. Third, the key players of the 24/25 season are still here today (key players defined as Vini, Mbappe, Jude, Thibaut Courtois). Fourth, the players who were injured for long portions of last season are still injured (i.e., Militao, Mendy, Alaba, any RB, etc.). Fifth, Xabi Alonso had a falling out with a portion of the players (feel free to debate who exactly but it’s clear that Vini was one. We can debate Jude considering the timeframe of when his goodbye post finally arrived). Finally, there has yet to be a true major difference thus far between the Xabi era and the Arbeloa era besides attitude / commitment / work rate of a few. It hasn’t been a tactical shift.

I understand the last portion may be the most difficult to actually convince you all. And I likely will need to take a complete other DT to do so. But alas, I don’t have the time for this portion. Feel free to disagree in the comments and maybe we can come to a mutual understanding at a later time. Just please bear with me for the moment and follow my train of thought. Also please don’t comment saying what’s changed is simply “off ball movement,” it’s not a massive stretch for me to say a better attitude leads towards players actually running.

My Reasoning. Ok, now that I’ve cemented that background. Yes, as M91 would call me an irrational process oriented person who takes pride in sustainable results more than simple one-off affairs (insert analogy of man driving off cliff and finding pot of gold), I would fire Arbeloa (assuming there are zero tactical changes) even if he won the double. Why? Because of the message keeping him would send. Keeping him would justify a player-led coup against an unlikeable manager. Keeping him further indicate that maybe these players gave up on Carlo Ancelotti in the 24/25 season, when Carlo often called for more intensity in every facet of the game. Keeping him would indicate that this team of midfield misfits, lacking Toni Kroos and a Joselu-type 9, can simply turn it on to win major trophies when they feel appreciated or quite frankly care to play at a quality which meets Real Madrid’s standards. And I’m sorry, but that is not the leadership or commitment to RM as an institution that I would be comfortable aligning with. I am a fan of this club not the players, and my fear with ratifying this haphazard approach to player commitment is that it would more often than not disrupt the unity of club.

I’m not sure if I’m truly explaining how I feel on this topic or if my words are reaching you wherever you may be, so I’m going to try a bit again. Sorry if this is repetitive. I’m extremely worried that we’d be teaching these impressionable and young players that when adversity comes their way (whether individual or collective), it is acceptable for them to drop their intensity in order to bring upon a change of management. Yes, this very much hinges on my final background point “There has yet to be a true major difference thus far between the Xabi era and Arbeloa besides attitude…” But if things remain in the same consistent motion, I can’t help but feel as if it would ring true. In many ways, this season could define this new era of Madrid for years to come. In many ways, we’ve already cemented bad habits. We’ve already showcased that it is acceptable for star players to dispute with managers on substitutions on a global stage to the point where they scream “It’d be better if I left Madrid.” We’ve arguably somewhat showcased that players can potentially pick and choose what games to play despite medical disapproval. And we’re approaching a stage where we may be showcasing that Real Madrid more than ever is truly a player-led club.

And who knows? Maybe that’s not a terrible thing. The 3-peat era staged a coup against Rafa Benitez and it worked. But idk if it would work in this instance. Idk if these players or if RM as an institution is wealthy enough to create such a massive gap in talent considering the Premier League’s revenue + oil money. I’m not sure or at least I’ve been trying to advocate that 2026 is not 2016. The world has changed. Football has changed. Successes of the past are likely failures of today. Idk.

Feel free to disagree with me on all of this. I’m still shaping my own opinion on the subject and where I’ll ultimately land. My mind isn’t some binary code. But I’ll just leave you finally with this. For years, MM and Real Madrid fans laughed at PSG and at times Messi-led Barca. We laughed at the extravagant salaries. We laughed at Neymar’s private jet. We laughed at Messi ensuring certain of his friends were signed or renewed. We laughed at these “player-driven” clubs because they weren’t like us. We had an institution that would never cater to anything but the benefit of the badge. This is the club that sold Cristiano Ronaldo, refused to renew Sergio Ramos, sent Iker Casillas packing in tears. This is the club that sold DiMaria to Manchester United the same summer that he won the CL MoTM award. We are Real Madrid and the path to success is ruthless.

Well…MM…who are we now?

Cheers,

J

(Necessary Disclaimer: Since many of you will likely run with this in a disorganized and relentless fashion, please note that I am still hoping for Arbeloa to be successful. I’ve actually always liked him and followed him as the Juvenil A manager. I hope he wins the double. Leaves and comes back — when we can actually cherish his brilliance rather than witness him as a well-dressed cheerleader).

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“buy the dip. short VIX. f*ck bitcoin. And Hala Madrid.“