Earthquake at Real Madrid. Finishing a season without silverware for the first time since 2011 was always likely to have consequences at a club where winning is not merely expected but demanded, and one that had become accustomed to success ever since the beginning of the Pablo Laso era on the sidelines. After two weeks of reflection, the fallout from a season that ended on a sour note is now out in the open.
And in many ways, those consequences represent a return to the past. One that has left nobody indifferent.
Real Madrid’s elimination in the Liga Endesa quarterfinals against La Laguna Tenerife was merely the visible trigger for unrest that had been building for weeks inside the club offices and around the basketball section. It also placed Sergio Scariolo at the center of the debate. The Italian coach, who arrived in the summer of 2025 to launch a new era, came under heavy scrutiny after the team’s disappointing campaign.
Despite having two more years remaining on his contract, Scariolo’s future was openly questioned after the league exit and the disappointing end to a season in which Madrid came up short in every major competition: losing the Super Cup final to Valencia, the Copa del Rey final against Baskonia, and falling to Olympiacos in the EuroLeague. Even a wave of injuries in the frontcourt —with Edy Tavares, Alex Len and Usman Garuba all dealing with physical issues during the closing stretch of the season— could not entirely soften the criticism surrounding the team.
Yet the major changes at the club have not, at least for now, involved the head coach. Madrid ultimately decided to keep Scariolo and publicly back his project despite growing criticism and concerns over the team’s performances.
The real changes have come higher up the ladder.
In a very personal decision by recently re-elected president Florentino Pérez, Juan Carlos Sánchez has been brought back to oversee the basketball section. Just a year ago, the veteran executive — who ran the department from 2010 to 2025 and oversaw a period that produced 28 trophies— stepped aside to make room for former point guard Sergio Rodríguez.
Alongside Rodríguez came another former Madrid player, Lithuanian Martynas Pocius, to strengthen the sporting department, as well as executive Paco Robles. Their mission was to modernize a club that had remained highly successful on the court but was still viewed as outdated in other important areas, such as merchandising and the overall game-day experience.
That project, however, barely survived a single season.
In truth, Sánchez never completely left Real Madrid. During the past season, he maintained a close relationship with Florentino Pérez, acting as an external advisor. Now Madrid appears to be rewinding the clock and returning, in many ways, to the same place it stood a year ago.
Because Sánchez’s return has already triggered immediate consequences.
The first was the resignation of Sergio Rodríguez, whose relationship with the new head of basketball operations had reportedly been strained dating back to Rodríguez’s playing days in Madrid. The former NBA player had no intention of working under Sánchez, and his departure quickly followed. Pocius and Robles are also expected to leave alongside him.
But the consequences could run deeper and potentially reach the first team as well.
In an unexpected development, Sergio Llull has publicly positioned himself in the dispute, sharing on social media a picture from Real Madrid’s 2012 ACB title celebration in which he appeared alongside Rodríguez and Pocius. It is worth noting that Llull’s relationship with Sánchez has also been far from ideal since the executive decided to move on from Pablo Laso in 2022 following the coach’s heart-related health episode.
Now 38 years old, Llull is out of contract this summer and, although an agreement for a one-year extension had already been informally reached, uncertainty has suddenly increased over whether that deal will still happen after 20 seasons as one of Real Madrid’s most iconic players.
Real Madrid now heads into a pivotal offseason. Scariolo has received the club’s backing, but the roster still requires significant rebuilding, with the futures of players such as Chuma Okeke, Alex Len, Trey Lyles and David Kramer all appearing uncertain.
But beyond personnel decisions —and without yet taking a definitive position in the broader FIBA-EuroLeague debate— the Spanish giants must solve structural issues and regain the stability that had long been one of the organization’s defining strengths and now suddenly appears to be under threat.
More than a short-term crisis, the feeling is of a club trying to rediscover a formula that once seemed untouchable and, suddenly, stopped working.
Time will tell whether this return to the past —and the profound consequences that come with it— turns out to be the right move.