Power Ranking Every Real Madrid Player from the 2014/15 La Liga Season
Real Madrid failed to win La Liga, finishing two points behind leaders Barcelona, but in reality, the difference between the two sides felt greater than that.
Here we evaluate Madrid's domestic campaign to see who let the team down and who performed out of their skin.
Based on their performances and influence in La Liga alone, these are the Real Madrid power rankings for 2014/15.
Players with under five appearances in the competition are excluded from the rankings. In this case, that's just final-day substitute Martin Odegaard and 21-year-old midfielder Alvaro Medran.
22. Sami Khedira
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Sami Khedira's time in the Spanish capital is up.
The German midfielder will leave on a free transfer once his contract at Real Madrid expires on June 30.
He's still a decent player, but a combination of an injury and being out of favour has led to him being virtually invisible for months.
With a good pre-season under his belt, he could still play at the top level—he just won't be doing it at the Santiago Bernabeu.
21. Fabio Coentrao
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Another player destined for the exit is Portuguese left-back Fabio Coentrao.
Having started just five games in La Liga this season, if he wants to further his career, then he must find a new club.
The defender was rotated with Marcelo last season, but he has mostly been left out this time around.
He's 27, so he should be at his footballing peak. Instead, he's been reduced to clowning around on the bench.
Coentrao still has several years to run on his contract so must hope someone takes a gamble on him.
20. Asier Illarramendi
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Asier Illarramendi should get out of Real Madrid before it's too late.
Perhaps the Basque midfielder isn't quite good enough for this level and the price tag on his shoulders proved too heavy.
But he is still a good midfielder who could easily play for a strong Liga side.
He started 10 games this season and came on as a substitute in 20 more, but overall, he had little impact.
Unfortunately, Madrid might not want to take too much of a hit on the €35 million they paid for him, so he might have to stick around.
19. Keylor Navas
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Keylor Navas signed for Real Madrid last summer and probably thought he would play more than he has.
Diego Lopez featured in all the league games last season while veteran Iker Casillas was reinstated for the cups.
This term, though, Carlo Ancelotti has used Casillas in most games and given Navas just six league starts.
The Costa Rican is a fine stopper, but he hasn't had the chance to show it at Real.
Probably rusty due to lack of games, he made a mistake during Madrid's recent win over Espanyol.
18. Lucas Silva
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Brazilian midfielder Lucas Silva has only featured in eight Liga games since signing for Real Madrid in January, as he struggled to adjust to the pace of the league.
However, the 22-year-old is one for the future.
Lucas Silva might stay with Madrid next season or perhaps follow the footsteps of Casemiro, who enjoyed a good season on loan with Porto.
17. Nacho
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A record of five starts and nine substitute appearances for Nacho shows he is very much a reserve.
Versatile and able to play across the back line, he's a useful player to have on the bench.
He seems content to play a bit-part role at Real Madrid, so he will be a handy squad player for Carlo Ancelotti or whoever else takes over next season.
16. Jese
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Young forward Jese is an interesting player. The question is, does Jese's future lie at Real Madrid or elsewhere?
When he's been given the chance after coming back from his knee injury, he's shown he's got plenty of raw talent.
However, it needs to be developed, and the Bernabeu is not a good place to do that because the fans are demanding and the forward line is rammed with quality players.
Jese played on the final day of the season and scored a lovely goal during Madrid's 7-3 win over Getafe.
Perhaps it's enough to get him an attractive loan move in the summer or even a permanent transfer with buy-back clause.
15. Alvaro Arbeloa
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Right-back Alvaro Arbeloa is probably no longer good enough to play at the top of the game, but he has proved to be a decent understudy to Dani Carvajal.
Arbeloa should probably be steered toward the exit, but despite the abuse he gets from some quarters for being slow and lacking agility, he's done a reasonable job.
He's played in 22 league games, which isn't a bad total and should be enough to ensure that someone else will offer him a home this summer, with Danilo's arrival from Porto imminent.
14. Javier Hernandez
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Real Madrid fans like Mexican striker Javier Hernandez because he always plays his heart out for the team.
Chicharito was upset after being left as a reserve for most of the season but put that discontent to the side to score a couple of important goals for his team.
The most crucial of those was the Champions League quarter-final winner against Atletico Madrid, which sent Los Blancos through to the semis.
That didn't go so well, but it was important for the forward to end the hoodoo Diego Simeone's side seemed to hold over their rivals.
Seven goals in seven starts is a strong record too.
As things stand, he seems set to return from whence he came. That being Manchester United, as his loan spell expires.
13. Iker Casillas
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Oh, Iker Casillas. Is this goodbye? We don't know yet. What we do know is that Madrid would love to sign David De Gea. If they do, it spells trouble for the veteran stopper.
Per Goal, Casillas says that he would love his club to sign the Manchester United man while at the same time stressing that isn't planning on leaving himself.
That might render him a very expensive substitute goalkeeper, or perhaps Carlo Ancelotti will revert to playing him in the cups.
Perhaps it would be better if he left, but it's far too late for a hero's goodbye such as the one Xavi got at Barcelona on Saturday.
12. Raphael Varane
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This was neither a disappointing nor delightful season from Raphael Varane, who probably didn't get to play quite as much as he'd have liked.
Making 21 starts isn't bad, though, and the Frenchman generally impressed.
He will hope that next year he can really crack the Sergio Ramos-Pepe partnership in two, paring with one of them as one of the club's starting centre-backs.
His speed is wondrous and helps him get out of holes that some other parts of his game, which need refining, create.
11. Dani Carvajal
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Dani Carvajal has established himself as the club's top right-back, making 30 appearances in La Liga.
The club's top right-back until the summer that is, when Danilo joins.
It's curious Madrid want the Porto man when Carvajal has shown signs of progression and has generally been a safe pair of hands.
That, though, might be exactly what they don't like, given that Madrid want to entertain and are happy to take risks.
Overall, he can be pleased with his season's work, but fighting for a spot against Danilo, as opposed to Arbeloa, will be extremely hard work for the Spaniard.
10. Pepe
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Pepe had a solid, decent season. The Portuguese centre-back has matured like a fine wine.
Four yellow cards in 27 games shows he's been behaving himself, and the drama you often tire of with Pepe has not reared its ugly head once this season.
His partnership with Sergio Ramos still looks strong, and the defender can pat himself on the back for a fine year on a personal level.
9. Gareth Bale
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A tricky second season for Gareth Bale, but his record of 13 goals and nine assists shows it hasn't been the total disaster some will have you believe.
Yes, the world's most expensive player should be doing a lot more.
Yes, he hasn't been as good as last season.
Yes, he does seem to lack the technical ability of some of his team-mates and hasn't fitted in as well as you would like.
But Bale is still an important player, and Florentino Perez will not let him go just yet.
With Cristiano Ronaldo now 30, Bale is still seen as the future of Real Madrid's attack. He just has to adapt.
8. Marcelo
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At times last season, it seemed like Fabio Coentrao was being kept for the big games.
But Marcelo's frequent good displays have seen him installed as the No. 1 left-back for all occasions.
In recent weeks, he's become a little bit slack, but the Brazilian has been a phenomenal attacking force for much of the season.
Similar to how Dani Alves used to augment almost every Barcelona attack, you'll find Marcelo flying up the wing whenever he can.
Defensively, he's been reasonable, which is actually good by his standards when it comes to the nitty-gritty stuff.
7. Sergio Ramos
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Real Madrid's leader, talisman and shining light, Sergio Ramos has had another good season at the top level.
His anticipation and daring have helped Madrid at the back, while he's not shy of a goal or two either, scoring four in La Liga this season.
Ramos was out injured for a chunk of the second half of the campaign, and Real Madrid suffered some bad results in his absence, including a 4-0 defeat to neighbours Atletico.
That would never have been allowed had he been on the pitch, and he's still a crucial component for Los Blancos.
6. Isco
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While no Real Madrid player will admit to loving this season, during which they achieved very little, the former Malaga man finally got the bit between his teeth.
Converted from a purely attacking playmaker to a wise, hard-working but still creative midfielder, Isco is loved at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The Andalusian is a true gem, and this season was when he began to shine, even if Madrid have no crown to show for it beyond the Super Cup and Club World Cup.
He gave Carlo Ancelotti a selection headache, with the coach loath to change his front three of Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo, or his midfield of Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, James Rodriguez.
But Isco forced his way in and started 26 Liga matches, scoring four goals and adding nine assists.
5. Luka Modric
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Just 16 league appearances for Croatian midfielder Luka Modric this term, but that doesn't tell the story of his season or his importance to Real Madrid.
Luka Modric was injured for around four months and missed Real Madrid's league defeats by Valencia, Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao—three of the most important games of their season.
In his second game after returning from his hamstring injury, he was thrown into the Clasico, which Madrid lost 2-1.
When Modric played well so too did Madrid, but the midfielder eventually ran out of steam.
In the absence of Xabi Alonso, sold last summer, he is a key cog for the club.
4. Karim Benzema
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In the second half of last season, Karim Benzema really started coming into his own as a striker who can hold the ball up well.
He continued improving this season, becoming a wonderful foil for Cristiano Ronaldo.
Benzema is unselfish and often moves into wider positions to allow the Portuguese to surge into the middle.
With 15 goals in 29 league games and a further 10 assists, Real Madrid's hitman is still going strong.
Most other attackers in the league would love the chance to play beside him, benefitting from Benzema's intelligence and hard work.
3. Toni Kroos
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Tiredness lessened his impact in the second half of the season, but for months, Toni Kroos was on top form.
His laser-sharp passing was a highlight of Real Madrid's play, with the German snapping around in midfield, helping drive Los Blancos forward.
The World Cup triumph with his country may have given him extra energy at the start of the campaign, but given Carlo Ancelotti was so loath to rotate him, Kroos grew tired.
With a summer off to relax, we can expect big things from him next season.
2. James Rodriguez
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The only thing that could have made James Rodriguez's debut season better would've been adding to the Super Cup and Club World Cup trophies.
The Colombian midfielder adapted better than anybody would have imagined after moving to Madrid from Monaco.
Every action he makes on the pitch seems to create something for one of his team-mates, and he willing to chip in with a goal himself too.
James played 29 times in La Liga and notched 13 goals and 13 assists.
A wonderful total for a player who has taken to Spanish football like a duck to water. We should be able to enjoy watching this star for another decade.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo
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Another season is over, and the top dog at Real Madrid is still the same.
Yes, Cristiano Ronaldo is still Los Blancos' best player. Is anyone surprised?
Ronaldo played 35 Liga games and scored an astonishing 48 goals, enough for him to win the Pichichi Trophy and the European Golden Boot.
His closest contender was Barcelona's Lionel Messi, who scored 43.
This was Ronaldo's best season in front of goal in La Liga, albeit two goals behind Messi's record of 50.
Some believe the Portuguese is selfish, but on top of his many, many goals, Ronaldo also has 16 assists in the Spanish top flight.
With a summer off and titles to regain, don't bet against Ronaldo hitting the ground running next season.
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