Diario: Arbeloa given ultimatum: Reach UCL Final or sacked

After Real Madrid suffered a shocking defeat to relegation-zone team Mallorca as a guest, coach Arbeloa has received an ultimatum from the club: either lead the team to the UCL final, or he will be dismissed at the end of the season.

Diario Sport stated that Real Madrid's disastrous defeat in Mallorca is likely to be a turning point in Arbeloa's coaching career. The Real Madrid coach once again took a risk by rotating the squad. The Real Madrid board of directors is extremely angry with Arbeloa's use of troops in key games this season, and the ultimatum is very clear: either reach the Champions League final, or be dismissed at the end of the season.

President Florentino originally seemed relieved after seeing the team's winning streak and unexpectedly defeating Manchester City to advance to the Champions League quarter-finals. The team regained its vitality after using youth players and Vinicius's recovery, and although they didn't play well, they still survived in the two competitions that the club really valued.

However, all of this took a turn for the worse after Arbeloa's incomprehensible lineup against Mallorca. He decided to rest Vinicius, who was in the best form, and give Mbappe playing time. Militao's appearance in the second half and Thiago-Pittachi's exclusion from the starting lineup were also surprising. Arbeloa took a risk, thinking that this game could be won without all the main players on the field.

The plan went wrong, and Real Madrid completely buried their hopes of winning the league title in an unexpected way. The club is very angry because now Real Madrid has to bet everything on one card, which is by no means easy. In the Champions League, they must defeat Bayern in the quarter-finals, and are likely to face one of the hottest teams in Europe - Paris Saint-Germain - in the semi-finals. This is tantamount to suicide. If they suffer a disastrous defeat against Bayern next Tuesday, the Bernabéu stadium is likely to erupt with dissatisfaction.

Real Madrid recognizes some aspects of Arbeloa, such as his courage to boldly use his own youth players, and his ability to restore players like Valverde and Vinicius to their best form. But they are clear that he is a disaster in terms of on-the-spot command. In 7 games where they were behind, he only successfully reversed 2, and he has already lost 5 in the 18 games he has coached. This data is not enough for him to stay, unless he can create a miracle in European competition.

Real Madrid has already started looking for a coach for next season again, because they are worried that things may end in a very bad way. If they suffer a disastrous defeat in the Champions League, coupled with the humiliation at the Camp Nou, it may even lead to more radical decisions being taken before the end of the season.

Real Madrid's idea is to keep Arbeloa in place as much as possible, hold on, and then have a coach with international experience and top-level ability to turn things around. Zidane has been ruled out because he will coach the French national team; while Klopp has no intention of signing. All indications point to Allegri - a coach who is used to winning trophies and managing complex locker rooms. Arbeloa seems to have dug his own grave in Mallorca.