So where does the blame lie?

Of course apart from the coach one has to look at the players. The world transfer record fee of Cristiano Ronaldo comes to mind.

Whilst the player has been simply exceptional for the club, no player is worth the £80 million that Real Madrid paid for him but at least he is providing the goods.

Kaka the player that cost almost £60m has been a major disappointment. One is reminded when thinking of Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo in the same team of the farcical episode in the great 1950's Madrid team.

On that occasion the Brazilian great Joseph Altafini was brought into an attacking midfield that contained Alfredo di Stefano. It was an ambitious task and a gamble that did not pay off for club president Santiago Bernabeu and Altafini was soon giving his marching orders.

The one player that has impressed at the Bernabeu in recent months has been the Argentinian Gonzalo Higuain. A player that despite notching double figures in goals this season is ridiculed by Marca. Why? 

The most obvious reason is that he was not bought by current president Florentino Perez, and for some perverse reason is not seen as a galactico. Which brings us to an interesting point.

At the end of the 2002/03 season Real Madrid - who were still rightly regarded as the best team in Europe - off-loaded their defensive midfielder Claude Makelele. T

he French international had made the mistake of asking Perez for a pay rise so that his wages could be in line with the recently nicknamed 'galacticos'- which consisted of Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo and Ronaldo to name a few.

Perez insulted the ''average'' player, and refused. Makelele put in a transfer request and was signed up by a waiting Chelsea. The west Londoners were starting a new dawn, while Real Madrid had without knowing started their dissent into the football bowels.

Everyone knew how important Makelele was to Real. He let Zidane and Figo come out of their shells to express their box of tricks in attack; he was the engine of the team.

The fans knew, the media knew but even the pleas from Los Galacticos was not enough to stop Makelele's departure to the Blues.

Makelele was only one half of the puzzle that Perez seemed determined to destroy as next came the sacking of Vicente del Bosque.

A coach who was a proven motivator and a man who could keep the many ego's at Madrid firmly planted to the ground, Del Bosque received his P45 after guiding Real to a second La Liga championship in two years.

Added to the fact that under del Bosque Real had captured two Champions League titles and a World Club Cup, you had to scratch your head in bemusement.

There was talk of player unrest with del Bosque and that he may have 'lost' the changing room. But those alleged players were either transfer-listed or told they had no place in the team anymore.

Del Bosque's sacking was, in short, shocking.  No wonder Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger - a long time target for Florentino Perez has turned down Los Blancos on many occassions.

Just how much time  would Wenger be given to install his football philosophies? At Arsenal - despite no trophies in nearly five years, he has that comfort zone. That time in Madrid would register as one full season, and out.

So with del Bosque and Makelele vanquished, and a new set of galacticos sworn in, Perez sat in the directors box waiting for his 'tactical decisons' to take shape.

Despite signing up David Beckham, Michael Owen, Robinho and even buying a few defensive players in Sergio Ramos and Jonathan Woodgate, Real turned staid. The team grounded to a halt.

Perez would sit through two full seasons of wasted opportunites and no silverware. Of course, replacing two figures at the club in Makelele and del Bosque wasn't fully responsible for Real's demise but it did start the timebomb, of that there is no question.

At the start of the 2005/06 campaign French legend Zinedine Zidane said that this would be his final season before retiring. ''I cannot take another season like the last one'', the French legend said.

Although he was talking about the physical impact of the game on his tired ageing body he could have easily been talking about the frustrations of playing for a side that had run out of ideas. Halfway through the season Perez dramatically resigned. It felt like relief.

For the next two seasons a more simplified Real went on to win two Liga titles back to back. This despite the quality that was emerging at Barcelona who had become European Champions in 2006.

True they still kept up the tradition of going out of Europe early, but you can't win them all. At least Real had stopped the rot.

Despite Perez, on his resignation, saying that the club needed a new direction, he was back as president three years later.

His first job was to relive Juande Ramos of his coach's position. Another example that a Real Madrid team should leave little or no trace of what was 'BP' - before Perez.

Ramos - despite his difficulties with Tottenham Hotspur - had come into the set up at Real Madrid earlier that season and had done a sterling job with the club, finishing second to Barcelona after a difficult start.

The rest of what Perez did - spending money like water - you already know. In the three years that the construction billionaire was away from football he had learned nothing.

For the fans and season ticket holders ,of course, it is exciting to see Ronaldo et all strut their stuff on the Bernabeu pitch, but what are a handful of truly beautiful victories, if you do not see your club filling up the trophy cabinet?

It leads me to conclude, that Senor Perez is to blame for Real's exit.

He started the ball rolling those many years ago and that ball of destruction is plainly continuing. A Liga title this year would only paper over the cracks. And if no title is forthcoming, Perez has the simple answer:  Another bank loan.