The name of Santiago Solari brings many memories back into the minds of the Real Madrid faithful. After all, the Argentine has spent many a year at the club in various roles.

Solari played for the Merengues between 2000 and 2005, winning two La Liga titles and a UEFA Champions League amongst other accolades.

He returned to the club as the academy manager between 2013 to 2018 before seeing the elusive chance to take over as the first-team manager for four months.

A third undercover stint

Most recently, Solari returned to Real Madrid in an administrative role. He has worked silently on the sidelines, observing matches, training, the academy, and conveying his opinion to the coaching staff.

Further, he was tasked with collecting reports of players and coaches as and when needed by the club, albeit all without having a defined position in the club hierarchy.

This season, he has also travelled extensively with the youth team to generate reports and submit them to the higher authorities.

Rewarded with a big post

As revealed by The Athletic in a recent report, Solari has taken over as Real Madrid’s new Director of Football. He is thus now one of the board’s most influential members, replacing Manuel Fernandez in the position.

The change in the team’s organisational chart comes across as sudden and unexpected, although not entirely without reason.

After all, Solari has generated good relations in his recent stint at the club and has only been fairly rewarded with a recognisable position.

The Argentine will thus have a bigger say now in the club’s sporting decisions, transfer operations and squad management.

With the new position, he will become the club’s chief mediator for not only renewals and promotions but also the management of the academy and allied institutions.