Danilo Case an Important Lesson for Real Madrid Ahead of Delicate Summer

Those watching could see it for themselves. They knew. Amid a political mess, they didn't need the dots connected for them, but those involved connected them anyway. 

"[Dani] Carvajal had a fever so didn't start," said Emilio Butragueno, a Real Madrid legend and director. Butragueno was speaking to Canal+ Partidazo (h/t AS) at the Benito Villamarin, where Madrid had just been held to a damaging 1-1 draw with Real Betis in late January.

On the night, Madrid had been impressive despite the scoreline, but they'd also created their own problems. After stellar performances in the preceding weeks, Carvajal was on the bench. In his place, the flawed, struggling and extravagantly expensive Danilo had started. And it hadn't gone well. 

In the build up to Alvaro Cejudo's spectacular opener, Danilo was at fault. When he went forward, his work was messy and almost chaotic. After an hour, he was subbed. 

"Why do this to yourselves?" was the essence of the post-match discourse. 

"That was a technical decision, but from a physical standpoint [Carvajal] was a bit restricted," added Butragueno. Then, minutes later in the press room, manager Zinedine Zidane was questioned on the same matter.

"[Carvajal] didn't have anything wrong with him," asserted Zidane with seven words that said it all. "He didn't start the match because Danilo did, that's all there is to it."

There it was, that bumbling connection of the dots. With contradictory comments coming minutes apart, those watching had reinforced to them what they already knew: internal politics had taken precedence over logic, price tags had influenced selection and Real Madrid had got in their own way. 

Again.

There's an important lesson there, even if you wonder whether those who need to learn from it actually will. 

From the moment Danilo was signed last summer, immediately his presence looked like a problem. 

That wasn't due to his style or his reputation. Nor his pedigree or his non-EU status, which can complicate the process of squad building. Instead, it was just that price tag: €31.5 million. Or, as put by AS editor Alfredo Relano at the time: "A high price for a player who will be free next season."

Now, basically.

Had the Brazilian cost €10 million or even €15 million, none of this would be an issue. As an attacking full-back, the 24-year-old has his uses, his combination of size, power and aggressive instincts valuable if used in the right circumstances and with careful consideration.

If regarded definitively as a back-up, he'd be great. But he's not. 

At Real Madrid, price tags mean more than they do elsewhere, a business model having been built on them. This is a club at which "expensive" means "better," even if it doesn't really—at which being new can mean more than being excellent. 

Thus, Danilo has played even when it's made no sense, his price tag demanding he do so and exerting a political pressure on his managers. In the early part of the season, Celta Vigo's Nolito butchered him. Paris Saint-Germain's Maxwell exploited him. Barcelona's Neymar torched him. Sevilla's Yevhen Konoplyanka, said Marca, "put him through the mill."

As the bulk of it unfolded, the industrious, attentive and vastly superior Carvajal—a Spain international—sat on the bench. 

More recently, Zidane appears to have settled on Carvajal for the biggest occasions, but still the issues with Danilo persist: Wolfsburg attacked him with unrelenting success, Rayo Vallecano exposed his flank and Valencia did the same.

Just think what all of this could have meant had Cristiano Ronaldo not carried Madrid to the "remontada" against Wolfsburg. Think what that get-in-their-own-way stalemate with Betis actually means given the way the league's complexion has since shifted.

Denis Doyle/Getty Images

Madrid, of course, can't alter that history, but ahead of a delicate summer, they could avoid repeating the mistake.

When the season ends, Zidane will enter a preparatory phase ahead of 2016-17 in which most of his needs he already has. At his disposal is the most explosive of forward lines, a gifted midfield, a magnificent goalkeeper and a talented if somewhat flawed defence.

There are question marks over the futures of some, sure—it would be surprising if one of James Rodriguez or Isco didn't depart, while ahead of a potential transfer ban, the club's situation with Ronaldo is complex—but having stormed to this season's finish line while unearthing a sense of structure and identity, sweeping changes are not the answer.

Instead, the approaching summer is one for subtle alterations for Madrid, bolstering depth in thinner areas and carefully reinforcing a squad that looks as though it still might have a big season left in it. 

Specifically, a back-up left-back is required. Another centre-back could be necessary too given Pepe is 33 and entering the final 12 months of his contract. A defensive anchor who could provide cover for Casemiro wouldn't hurt, either. 

But the key for Madrid is to resist the temptation to make splashes by spending colossal sums on players who are not yet the finished article—sums such as €31.5 million for a right-back you're not sure is better than the one you have. Unless the player arriving is indisputably among the finest in the world at his position, doing so would only lead to headaches. 

All season, those exact headaches have been demonstrated by the case of Danilo, whose price tag has created a problem that otherwise wouldn't exist.

That mistake has been made and can't be undone, but you can avoid making it again.