Real Madrid legend claims current squad is ‘better than the Galacticos’

Former Real Madrid player Guti has been stealing headlines recently, through his statements, with the Spaniard recently urging his former club to sign Erling Haaland next summer.

In his most recent interview with AS, Guti has now offered his take on the Real Madrid squad and how it compares to the era of Galacticos.

Guti also shared his thoughts on Real Madrid’s tepid start to the season, admitting that there is room for improvement.

Guti compares current team to Galacticos

“With ups and downs. Not just in terms of play, but also in terms of points. They are four points behind Barcelona, ​​it is not a good start,” Guti said when asked about Real Madrid’s start.

Despite that, Guti admitted that the current version of Real Madrid is better than the era of Galacticos.

“This is a better squad than the Galacticos. They have very good players at a very young age. They will mark an era at Real Madrid,” he said.

The former midfielder went on to explain his position while backing Carlo Ancelotti to manage this squad in the months to come.

“There were many players in the Galacticos who were untouchable, who had to always play. In this case, Ancelotti will always do what is best for his team,” he said, noting what separates the two teams.

“At certain times he can play with a 4-3-3 because the game requires it and in difficult games, where he needs a little more muscle in the midfield, he will play with a 4-4-2. Ancelotti is a very intelligent coach and he will get the best out of this team,” he added.

Guti’s ideal starting XI at Real Madrid

Following his assessment of the two squads, Guti was asked about his ideal Real Madrid starting XI.

“The first line-ups of the season, for me, are the ideal team. With a 4-3-3, Rodrygo on the right wing, Vinicius on the left and Mbappe as a centre-forward,” he said.

“Obviously, during the course of the season, there are many injuries and absences. There will also be games in which Madrid will not have as much possession as in most games and they may think it is better to play with a 4-4-2,” he added.

Guti on Rodrygo’s future

The case of Rodrygo has been rather curious this season, as the forward has found himself in a peculiar spot following the arrival of Mbappe in the summer.

Guti, though, backed the Brazilian and believes he remains one of Real Madrid’s most important players.

“For Ancelotti, he is very important. And he has shown it: in these first matches and the Super Cup, he has played almost all of them as a starter,” he said.

“He is a player who is highly valued at Real Madrid. He is a player who has given a lot to the club, who can still give it and will do so. Someone with tremendous potential. If I were the sporting director of Madrid, I would never sell Rodrygo,” he added.

Guti on Vinicius, Kroos & Ballon d’Or

Guti went on to offer his thoughts on the summer departures and whether or not their exits have impacted the overall quality of the team.

“There have been three very important ones. Kroos is a player that Real Madrid misses; Joselu is the type of forward that the team doesn’t have right now and Nacho is a tremendous team player,” he pointed out.

“They could have played him (Nacho) in any position and he did it very well. Madrid has a large squad, but right now it is suffering from many injuries. I think it is a squad that is large enough to think about winning everything,” he added.

Giving a more nuanced view on Real Madrid’s midfield unit, Guti approved Ancelotti’s decision to hand more game-time to Arda Guler.

The Spaniard also backed the likes of Federico Valverde and Jude Bellingham as important players for Los Blancos.

“Ancelotti is giving more minutes to Güler. He is a very interesting player: a playmaker with a great final pass, a striker, a goal scorer. Over the next few seasons, he will have more and more importance.

“Valverde is untouchable for me. Both he and Bellingham are very important players. We have to give him time. When we are in a 4-4-2, Carlo can bring in more technical players, like Guler or Brahim. He has many elements to make a perfect combination,” he said.

Moving on to Vinicius Junior, Guti believes the poor performance of the Brazilian national team is weighing heavily on the Real Madrid frontman.

“Maybe the Copa America issue has had a bit of an influence on him, like the fact that Brazil hasn’t had good results. The qualifying matches haven’t been good either. That may have upset him a bit,” he said.

It must be noted that Vinicius has also received flak for his attitude towards opposition players and fans.

“He is a young boy and he has to polish some things. He will do it. It is not easy. It is true that with the help of everyone he will polish it. In the end, he will realize that the most important thing is to play football,” he noted.

Finally, Guti offered his take on the upcoming Ballon d’Or ceremony and who might nab the prestigious award.

Guti, in fact, made a rather bold prediction – backing Jude Bellingham or Dani Carvajal to win the Ballon d’Or.

“Bellingham or Carvajal,” he said. “If it’s for the first part of the season, I’d give it to Bellingham; if it’s for the second, I’d give it to Vinicius, but if it’s for a full season, I’d give it to Carvajal.”

Talking about Carvajal’s performance, Guti added, “He was very good both at the beginning and at the end, also with the national team. In the end, there are four or five who can win it. Better. It’s more fun this way.“

“Before it was just Messi or Cristiano. Now we’re going to have fun making predictions,” Guti concluded.