Real Madrid are living through a different period. Eight consecutive victories across all competitions have handed them the best possible remedy to dispel the fears that surrounded the club in the recent past.
Results alone did not restore stability. A handful of administrative decisions also gave the institution greater calm and confidence in the future, among them last week's move by the club's management to bring Spanish tennis legend Rafael Nadal into its project, according to a report by the Spanish newspaper "Marca".
A little over a month ago, specifically after the derby defeat, the atmosphere was completely different. José Mourinho fronted up to an angry press conference, warning that a new, complicated season could be awaiting Real Madrid after two campaigns without trophies.
"If they leave us alone, and allow us calm and to compete on equal terms, we still have a lot ahead of us," Mourinho said at the time, a clear reference to his anger at the refereeing decisions in the match.
The prospect of a fresh Real Madrid failure sat firmly on the table, even with part of the crisis pinned on the conflict with the Spanish league association and the refereeing system. Yet Mourinho's own decisions later did more than any referee to return the team to stability.
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Mourinho's decisions change the picture
The Portuguese coach began making sporting changes he had been slow to take. He stopped leaving Yan Diomande or Bernardo Silva stranded on the substitutes' bench for long periods, pushed Federico Valverde into the full-back position and deployed Arda Güler in more advanced roles.
These decisions reshaped the team and the results, arriving at a time when Real Madrid needed real change to climb out of their confusion.
His task did not stop at the technical side. Over time he managed to contain a number of cracks inside the dressing room, crises that grew louder when results declined, some of them surfacing during the spells of Xabi Alonso and Arbeloa.
The famous clash between Aurélien Tchouaméni and Federico Valverde was just one example of the tension running through the team.
Vinícius Júnior's relationship with Xabi Alonso offered another sign of a fragile dressing room. Matters escalated during the Arbeloa period, especially once Real Madrid lost their chances of competing, with Kylian Mbappé among the players who publicly laid bare the scale of the division.
Mourinho escapes the edge of the abyss
Players were not the only problem. Injuries and the way the medical staff handled them stirred up noise inside the club, especially after Mbappé travelled to France to undergo medical examinations.
Amid all this, Mourinho found himself at the edge of the abyss. He faced fans at the Santiago Bernabéu who were no longer prepared to accept more. The results and performances offered him nothing, the jeers kept coming, and then the Mbappé-to-France saga flared again after his injury on international duty. The coach was forced to address the crisis himself in a press conference.
Even the Vinícius file landed on Mourinho's desk, but the coach managed to calm the situation. The player received Real Madrid's backing, and at the same time the club signed Yan Diomande, who forced his way into the line-up and became a rival for the Brazilian's place, at least until his return from injury.
Most important of all, the prevailing sense now is that the ball sits in Vinícius's court to sort out his situation, rather than the coach being responsible for fixing it for him. Whatever decision Mourinho eventually takes on the player, the key signal is that the issue looks unlikely to spark major fallout inside the dressing room or threaten the club's stability.
Calm in Real Madrid's offices
Calm settled over the management too, not just the team. The board has stepped back from some of the battles that generated constant noise around the club, even if it has not dropped every dispute.
A non-aggression agreement ended the clash with UEFA, coinciding with the abandonment of the Super League project. Real Madrid's management then began procedures to rejoin the European Club Association chaired by Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, after the two parties had been in open confrontation, alongside the tense relationship with Aleksander Čeferin.
That restored a degree of normality to Real Madrid's relations with both institutions.
Even the presidential elections called by Florentino Pérez during a controversial press conference have taken on a different meaning over time. Back then they added to the instability. Now, with the situation calmer, the club has sufficient time to form its new project, at least up to 2030.
Selling a percentage of the club's shares to foreign investors, between 5 and 10% of Real Madrid's value, remains one of the most prominent files on hold, pending whether Pérez puts the project forward or not. It would require an amendment to the club's statutes, but it does not appear on the agenda of the general assembly scheduled for 21 November. The issue stays shelved for now.
By contrast, the general assembly is expected to approve Rafael Nadal joining as a member of Real Madrid's board of directors. The move gives the current project an added boost, reinforces the idea of its continuation and opens, albeit early, the door to speculation about a future option for succeeding the leadership.
It is still early to draw conclusions about Nadal's future within the club's management. Even so, recruiting one of the most prominent sporting figures in Spain sends a message of reassurance to the members, boosting Real Madrid's brand and preserving some of the club's most important symbols and identity.
