The Real Deal: A Real Madrid Podcast

Dom from Dom’s Tactics Lab joins Sid for a wide-ranging Madrid-Barça conversation during the World Cup. They discuss Scotland’s return to the tournament, Croatia and Messi, football’s refereeing controversies, the line between institutional influence and outright match-fixing, and why supporting a club feels different once football also becomes your work. Then the conversation turns to Real Madrid...

Jarod and Sid break down Jude Bellingham’s huge performance at the Azteca, Harry Kane’s fit next to him, Thomas Tuchel’s substitutions, England surviving with ten men, and what it all says about Real Madrid’s current attacking mess. Then they get into Brazil’s loss to Norway, Carlo Ancelotti’s tactics, Vinicius Jr.’s penalty situation, Neymar’s sad ending, Endrick, Haaland, and whether Brazil’s fo...

Ruri Barlow joins Siddharth Ramsundar for this World Cup RO32 reaction and big picture episode. How are Spain and Real Madrid's Marc Cucurella doing at the World Cup? What about Lamine Yamal and Alex Baena? Are Spain biased for not selecting Dean Huijsen, and how has the relationship been in the past? On Tuchel and England's visit to the Azteca, the Jude-Kane duo, Ronaldo and Portugal, Anc...

Jarod Hector and Siddharth Ramsundar discuss the sale of Nico Paz. Is moving off him coming from Mourinho, the club, or both? Who else should be signed to complete the squad? How could Bernardo Silva be platformed right now to help you control games? How will next season look under Mourinho?

Jarod Hector and Siddharth Ramsundar discuss the state of Real Madrid's stars at the World Cup. Arda Guler eliminated. Vinicius, Jude and Mbappe performing at their best. Rudiger for Germany. Who can stop France? Will Argentina stop winning penalties? Why are Portugal so disappointing?

Cerebrone joins Siddharth Ramsundar (Agarthasid) to discuss Eduardo Camavinga. Could being left at home for the World Cup be the lightbulb moment that helps him look in the mirror and turn his career around? Has he been lazy with the details even outside his injuries? Should Real Madrid sell Tchouameni or Federico Valverde?

Cerebrone joins Siddharth Ramsundar (AgarthaSid) to talk Kylian Mbappe's past, present and future. Why he joined Real Madrid at the wrong time, why he was frustrated this past season, the chip on his shoulder at the World Cup with France, why Olise fits him so well, and how his parents have managed his career going back to Monaco days. Cerebrone predicts that he will have his best season yet u...

Ali Elfakharany joins Siddharth Ramsundar (Agarthasid) to discuss Arsenal's transfer strategy this summer, Cucurella being among the most expensive older defenders to be transferred, how Real Madrid need to stay competitive without the best purchasing power in the sport, breakout players of the World Cup and more.

Siddharth Ramsundar (Agarthasid) discusses how Real Madrid would shape up with Olise on the team, preferred midfield targets going forward, concerns with the backline, and takes mailbag questions from members.

Jarod Hector and Siddharth Ramsundar (Agarthasid) react to the Knicks winning the NBA title. Why Sid was hype on this team before Vegas odds caught up. Brunson's clutch performance, the importance of spacing. Can Luka Doncic win in the same situation? How's NYC reacting to the win from Jarod's bird's eye view? Will the Spurs or Thunder be back soon?

Jarod Hector and Siddharth Ramsundar (AgarthaSid) react to the initial set of World Cup Fixtures. How were Carlo's Brazil in their first outing? Were Spain and Turkey as bad as people suggested? Is this the best Team USA ever? And looking through the statistics as Deschamps' France turn it around after a slow first half.

Sid discusses and grades Real Madrid's Mourinho driven signings of Marc Cucurella, Ibrahima Konate, Bernardo Silva and Denzel Dumfries.

Jarod Hector and Siddharth Ramsundar dive into a big picture episode about the Champions League Final, the aesthetics of Arsenal and OKC as adopters of ultra-physical play in their sports, legislating those things out of the game, how PSG have gamed the footballing calendar, processing speed and decision making in sports, why early season results are more misleading than ever, why Luka Doncic and...

Jarod Hector and Siddharth Ramsundar discuss Real Madrid's elections, the announcements of signings by both parties, Florentino Perez's strategy with the election, the pushback against the sale of part of the club, the flaws in Riquelme's campaign, why all the big names feel like a distraction tactic, the potential upsides to Perez's signings, and the risks with Jose Mourinho going...

Sid and Jarod Hector return after a hiatus to discuss the state of Real Madrid. Florentino, Riquelme and elections? Jose Mourinho returning? Is there any hope going forward? Plus some updates on the new show.

Jarod Hector and Sid react to the win against Vallecano at the Bernabeu.

Sid and Xavier dive into the growing tension inside Real Madrid. We discuss Enzo Alves signing his first professional contract, Endrick exploding on loan in Lyon, and why his form is forcing uncomfortable questions about Madrid’s attacking hierarchy. From there, the conversation turns serious: Vinícius Jr.’s contract standoff, declining influence on the pitch, and how player power is beginning to...

Sid reacts to Real Madrid's Champions League loss against Jose Mourinho's Benfica. How we saw this coming, etc. 

Jarod Hector and Taalib react to the Villarreal game.

Sid and Xavier review the win over Monaco, Vinicius' dominant performance and more.

Jarod Hector and Sid R. discuss the world of influencers and how clubs 'launder influence' by finding people who need their sourcing or paying them to push their messaging. Florentino Perez maintains an iron grip around information around Real Madrid. We discuss how we intend on building sources near Real Madrid, and the inherent limitations of press credentials because they often only go...

Sid and Taalib break down the win over Levante, the whistles at the Bernabeu, the poor 1st half, the Guler impact substitution, what we're seeing from Arbeloa, and more.

Sports have never been more available, and yet, many will tell you something feels a bit off about the entire ecosystem. In this episode of The Real Deal, Joel Adejola joins Sid R. to question whether the way modern sports demand attention is actually sustainable. Coaches themselves don't have time to change things from game to game, but many fans watch addictively and expect more and more. No...

Sid and Xavier react to Real Madrid's disastrous loss to Albacete. Vinicius might have put in one of his worst performances in a long time after getting setup to succeed. Xavier walks us through the media factions and leaks behind the scenes and rumors about the changing ownership at Real Madrid, Louis Vitton, Pepe Alvarez, the Arbeloa-Alonso rift and more

Jarod Hector and Sid break down Xabi Alonso's sacking, how it's part of a larger trend of decline and mismanagement at the club, Florentino Perez's flaws and the way forward at Real Madrid.