Real Madrid's 4-0 defeat at the hands of their greatest rivals should be enough to cause concern for Rafa Benitez and Real Madrid's season.
As it turns out, the pressure is mounting on Florentino Perez, the club's president, as cries for the Spaniard to "RESIGN, RESIGN, RESIGN!" bellowed around the stadium upon referee David Fernandez final blow of his whistle on the night.
The president has called a press conference on Monday evening, amid speculation and reports from Spain which suggest Rafa Benitez will "most likely be sacked". While those reports should be taken with a pinch of salt, there is a sense that there will be consequences for this defeat. However, there is also a chance that he will decide to give his backing to the manager, who has not been hugely popular with fans.
Graham Hunter believes it is Perez who should be feeling the pressure as opposed to the club's relatively new manager.
Graham Hunter told Off The Ball that "Hala Madrid!", the club's anthem, was played at dangerously high levels following the game in order to drown out the cries for Perez' resignation. Hunter said, "It's not quite North Korea, but it is all going south for Florentino."
haha. The speakers on Hala Madrid have been turned up to industrial level to drown out the whistling. It's deafening. HashtagHealthAndSafety
— Graham Hunter (@BumperGraham) November 21, 2015
"Halfwits" are what the Spanish expert described the people at the club who allow Perez to make it up as he goes along every year. Benitez has been highlighted in the Spanish media on Sunday, but as Alfredo Relaño of AS reports, the famous pañolada (waving of white hankies) and the booing were aimed at the president, and not the manager.
Mi opinión de hoy: The Bernabéu has turned against the presidential box https://t.co/Ds1Wr8tMhV
— Alfredo Relaño (@AS_Relano) November 21, 2015
The last time Perez resigned from the club, it was in the "grip of humiliation" in February 2006 and the man who replaced him Ramon Calderon has called for his head too. The powers that be at Real Madrid re-elected the former President three years later, however, but one title in the last seven years is not good enough for Real Madrid's standards.
Will Florentino Perez give his support to Rafa tonight or show him the door? https://t.co/65PR7oN2Kd
— Newstalk Sport (@NewstalkSport) November 23, 2015
Elsewhere, Gazzetta dello Sport have a report this morning claiming Ronaldo stated "It's either Benitez or me," after the game in an explosion of anger. However the paper make sure to point out that they are unable to confirm that this definitely happened, but the press at home has not spared Madrid in their assessment of the match.
"Madrid in ruins" and "Benitez is a sitting duck"... the Spanish press react to El Clasico https://t.co/Uhoy3IRTKy pic.twitter.com/csPt6gRntZ
— Sky Sports La Liga (@revistadelaliga) November 22, 2015
Benitez had lost just once in 15 games prior to last night's 4-0 thumping but that may not be good enough to see him keep his job. At some point in Real Madrid's process of sacking managers, fans will begin to look at the very top and it seems that time might be coming sooner rather than later.
Things could also be getting worse for Perez before they get any better, as he's due in court on Wednesday the 25th to answer a formal complaint from a group of fans who are not happy that he changed the statutes of the club back in 2012.
The changes were to do with the length of time that a presidential candidate would need to have been a member of the club before running, as well as the size of a bank guarantee that they would need to put forward. Perez claimed that they were preventative measures to avoid the club being bought by someone who simply wanted to sell it on to a third party, but the group of fans have taken objection to that line.
According to El Mundo Deportivo, should the judge rule in favour of the fans, Perez could be forced to call presidential elections.
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