Real Madrid, in the first season since Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure to Juventus, have not had it easy. In seven days, Madrid have been knocked out of the Copa del Rey, La Liga’s title race and now the last 16 of the Champions League, the competition they had come to believe was their own.
They had won it three times in a row, four times in the last five years, while the last time Madrid failed to reach the quarter-finals was 2010, in Ronaldo’s first year at the club.
But on Tuesday, they were stunned 4-1 by Ajax. At the Santiago Bernabeu. While Gareth Bale started on the bench and as Sergio Ramos watched from the stands, after a deliberate booking to free himself to play the quarter-finals. Talk about drama!
Ajax were hard-done-by in the 2-1 first-leg defeat but their scintillating victory confirmed a 5-3 win on aggregate and a place in the quarter-finals. For Real though, the loss was further proof of how the mighty have fallen...
Tough numbers for a Real Madrid fan
Seven days, three home defeats, 8-1 aggregate score, all three competitions gone, one after the other, cup, league, European Cup, season over on 5 March, the day before their birthday...probably the worst week Real Madrid have ever had.
— Sid Lowe (@sidlowe) March 6, 2019
—Lost four straight home games for the first time since 2004
— B/R Football (@brfootball) March 5, 2019
—Failed to reach the #UCL quarter-finals for the first time since 2009/10
—Heaviest-ever home defeat in a European knockout game
—Lost as many games this season as the last two combined
This is fine. pic.twitter.com/DyJvv4ZLCP
⚪️ @RealMadrid’s @ChampionsLeague Record:
— SPORF (@Sporf) March 5, 2019
📅 2010/11
❌ Semi-Final
📅 2011/12
❌ Semi-Final
📅 2012/13
❌ Semi-Final
📅 2013/14
🏆 Winners
📅 2014/15
❌ Semi-Final
📅 2015/16
🏆 Winners
📅 2016/17
🏆 Winners
📅 2017/18
🏆 Winners
📅 2018/19
😳 Last 16
🤯 Some record. pic.twitter.com/5T2f8GGETr
For the first time in 1392 days, Real Madrid are officially out of Champions League contention. 😳 pic.twitter.com/mQmE5lD9La
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) March 5, 2019
More specifically...
😳 Real Madrid in the Champions League..
— Enock Kobina Essel (@kobinaessel39) March 5, 2019
Before Ronaldo:
- 04/05: R16
- 05/06: R16
- 06/07: R16
- 07/08: R16
- 08/09: R16
With Ronaldo:
- 09/10: R16
- 10/11: SF
- 11/12: SF
- 12/13: SF
- 13/14: W
- 14/15: SF
- 15/16: W
- 16/17: W
- 17/18: W
After Ronaldo:
- 18/19: R16 pic.twitter.com/3yP3H6IpDQ
€28m: Gareth Bale annual salary
— Adriano Del Monte (@adriandelmonte) March 6, 2019
€28m: Ajax’s entire wage bill (first team, second team, youth team)
😱 Real Madrid 1-4 Ajax pic.twitter.com/TPHYALSBAN
The legend of Ajax.. and Frenkie de Jong
Ajax’s *total* revenue last season was less than what the Premier League’s 20th-placed club West Brom earned from TV income *alone*.
— Omar Chaudhuri (@OmarChaudhuri) March 5, 2019
Real Madrid, by contrast, had the biggest revenues in world football.
Good recruitment, youth development, coaching can get you a long way.
Ajax have become the first side to eliminate Real Madrid in the Champions League knockout phases since @juventusfcen in the 2014-15 semi-finals. pic.twitter.com/SA6KbML5Cc
— Dugout (@Dugout) March 5, 2019
Well done @AFCAjax! The beautiful game.😍 pic.twitter.com/aQbbrIfvpX
— Jordi Cruyff (@JordiCruyff) March 5, 2019
Frenkie de Jong: “During my contract signing, they said: ‘Try to knock out Real.’”
— FourFourTweet (@FourFourTweet) March 5, 2019
Not only has he help knocked them out, he produced one of the best displays of his career.
Barcelona have signed a gem. pic.twitter.com/Y5Alu06Hcx
Frenkie De Jong visited the Bernabéu to dominate Kroos and Modric… Just like Arthur did a few days ago. They’ll be playing together next season 💉
— Rafael Hernández (@RafaelH117) March 5, 2019
Yeah, Frenkie de Jong looks like he's going to fit right in at Barcelona. pic.twitter.com/LKF4JE1nfv
— Alex Richards (@AA_Richards) March 5, 2019
The reason why Ajax are cruising at Santiago Bernabeu is that Frenkie de Jong is playing at his future training ground.
— Troll Football (@TrollFootball) March 5, 2019
End of an era...
Clear we're at the end of an era. Fact is, Real Madrid won three consecutive Champions Leagues. Four out of five. That's sensational. But throughout that period they were very regularly utter crap. So how will history judge this team? Great cup team? Lucky? Reliant on Ronaldo?
— Andy West (@andywest01) March 5, 2019
The domination is officially over. Real Madrid exit the Champions League for the first time in 4 years. Kudos for the Ajax boys, Johan Cruyff would be proud.
— Mootaz Chehade (@MHChehade) March 5, 2019
And the jokes... had to be about one man, right?
Ajax letting Perez know that Ronaldo left 4-1 reason 😂 pic.twitter.com/l2wT65zzCV
— Mr Sam (@XammyOfficial) March 5, 2019
Real Madrid 1-4 Ajax. Cristiano Ronaldo right now. pic.twitter.com/VZxcrLPwmi
— Own Goals (@OwnGoals1) March 6, 2019
🗣 Bale: "We are more of a team now that Ronaldo is gone."
— Football Tweet (@Football__Tweet) March 5, 2019
🗣 Carvajal: "Raul's career at Real Madrid was better than Cristiano's."
🗣 Ceballos: "You won't notice Ronaldo's absence."
🗣 Benzema: "I used to play for Ronaldo, but now I'm the leader." pic.twitter.com/vUusVDJER4
And then there was Ramos
What a night for Sergio Ramos.
— SBS - The World Game (@TheWorldGame) March 5, 2019
- Missed the 2nd leg because he got deliberately yellow carded in the 1st leg so he would be free to play in the QFs.
- Watched his side get knocked out for the first time since 2015.
- Was recording a documentary about himself in the Bernabeu. pic.twitter.com/8Ng1uVsSIg
Just a reminder: Sergio Ramos purposefully got an 89th minute yellow card in the 1st leg against Ajax so he would be suspended for this game.
— Football Tweet (@Football__Tweet) March 5, 2019
That's how confident he was of Real Madrid getting through. 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/i0jD2hvbZd
Real Madrid’s chances may have been better had Ramos not received a seemingly deliberate yellow card in the first leg.
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) March 5, 2019
