Real's eleven-day limbo

This Wednesday marked 11 days since Mourinho left Real Madrid as its manager and the club has yet to secure and officially announce the appointment of a new coach to take over at its helm.

Real Madrid is having a hard time signing Carlo Ancelotti, the number one candidate for the post. Florentino Pérez has never before taken so long to bring a new coach on board - an odd fact which has not escaped notice. Florentino has, during his three terms of office, employed eight managers. The longest gap between one going and a replacement arriving has been three days, which happened in the changeover from Vicente del Bosque to Carlos Queiroz and also from Manuel Pellegrini to José Mourinho.

Real Madrid's lack of coach is even more glaring at a time when arrivals and departures are being discussed and following Florentino Pérez's comment that movements are on hold until a new coach is in place. Although the truth is that there have already been two with Carvajal and Casemiro moving up to the first team. On MARCA TV's Monday night 'Futboleros' programme, Florentino revealed that he might announce the new manager next week. The clock continues to tick.