Description

Real Madrid’s innovative, modern strategies may not only keep them on top—but save soccer itself.

Featuring behind-the-scenes coverage and expert analysis, this book gives fans an up close and personal look at one of the world’s most legendary teams during a major crossroads for the sport.

Former Columbia Business School adjunct professor Steven G. Mandis, who analyzed Real Madrid’s path to success in The Real Madrid Way, returns to examine how the club is coping with systemic changes in the sport of soccer and innovating the sport in the process. 

Founded in 1902 and granted a royal title by the king of Spain in 1920, Real Madrid Club de Fútbol went onto become the world’s most valuable sports team (by revenue), most popular sports team (by social media followers), and most successful sports team (by number of trophies). 

But today, this legendary, member-owned soccer team faces significant challenges, including:

• Soccer losing the global entertainment battle against other sports and platforms
• The proliferation of closely government-related, private equity, and multi-club ownership models—while Real Madrid are a not-for-profit club owned by 92,000 members
• The financial dominance and further separation of the English Premier League, the so-called “NBA of football”
• The conflicts of FIFA and UEFA being both regulators and hosts of tournaments  
• A more congested schedule, leading to a glut of matches and more player injuries
• Players who earn more from endorsements than from playing the game
• An explosion of media platforms that enable a young generation of global fans to watch and engage with sports and entertainment in new and nontraditional ways

About the Author

Steven G. Mandis is an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School. He also teaches at Columbia's Masters of Sports Management Program. His previous award-winning book, What Happened to Goldman Sachs: An Insider's Story of Organizational Drift and its Unintended Consequences, is a rigorous analysis of if, why, and how the culture of Goldman Sachs changed. Mandis worked at Goldman Sachs in the investment banking, private equity, and proprietary trading areas. After leaving Goldman, he cofounded a multibillion-dollar global alternative asset management firm that was a trading and investment banking client of Goldman's. During the financial crisis, Mandis was a senior adviser to McKinsey & Company before becoming chief of staff to the president and COO of Citigroup and serving on executive, management, and risk committees at the firm. Mandis is Chairman and Senior Partner of Kalamata Capital, a provider of online small business financing. Mandis holds an AB from The University of Chicago and an MA, MPhil and PhD from Columbia University. Mandis was a two sport varsity athlete in college and currently competes in triathlons, including having competed in the Ironman World Championships in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii; Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Zell Am See-Kaprun, Austria; and Escape from Alcatraz in San Francisco, California. He was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, given to children of immigrants who exemplify a life dedicated to community service.