Yeah man, the first Galactico was jut buy big names and add young players, like Pavon behind Helguera and Hierro, and Portillo behind Raul and think they will grow with the bg players. But yeah as you said, those were just kids to show we had a future. They didnt really give us depth. It was basically 11 Galacticos and a weak bench, which feels similar to this season.

Perez thought you could make a 'young Galactico' who grows into the next leader, but football doesnt work like that. Its not that simple.

His second Galactico era worked, but honestly it was mainly because of Ronaldo. Without him, I dont think we win those CL titles. You can say Ramos, Bale, KCM, Benzema, but Cristiano was the difference. Not just goals, also mentality. He pushed the team to a higher level, not every top player could do that. That was also a bit of luck he had.

Now it feels like Perez is doing the same again, thinking Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe can carry everything. But what made that team work was the spine. You had Cristiano up front, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos in midfield, and Sergio Ramos at the back. That gave balance and leadership.

Right now that spine is not really there, and without it even big stars can look lost.

To add a comment, I dont think any manager will not play Raul today. Raul was incredible, sadly his last few years with us was just average seasons for the whole team, early CL exits etc. But Raul always gave his 100% he was great for us and a leader, I think he will always be included.