The Spanish newspapers are the simplest and sometimes hardest-hitting resource for the latest information on club football in the country – in particular in Madrid.

Barcelona exited the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, but whispers of discontent over that defeat were in direct contrast to talk of the “revolution” required at Real Madrid after their elimination from Europe’s top table.

Barcelona remain on course for back-to-back titles on the domestic front, easing the criticism thrown their way for their Champions League elimination at the hands of Atletico Madrid.

Real, however, face a second trophyless season – trailing Barca by nine points in La Liga – and an uproar that has not been quietened by the fact they have already changed manager once this season.

As record Champions League winners, Real at least went out with a bang in Munich, but that is unlikely to keep interim head coach Alvaro Arbeloa in the running to become the permanent replacement for Xabi Alonso, who was sacked in January.

Arbeloa’s side took the lead three times at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday and, until Eduardo Camavinga’s 86th-minute red card, had every chance of going through after digging deep and going blow for blow with the Bavarian giants in a thrilling clash.

A late double for Bayern consigned Madrid to a 4-3 defeat on the night – one on which Arbeloa said his team gave “their souls and their lives” – and a 6-4 aggregate loss.

“An honourable exit that will not provide consolation or avoid another revolution,” the Spanish newspaper AS wrote after a heady night.

Viva la Real revolution in Madrid

That revolution is likely to cost Arbeloa his job. He was perhaps a long shot to join the likes of Carlo Ancelotti and Jose Mourinho in managing Los Blancos as an internally promoted coach.

Los Blancos are now braced for more pain and possible change in the weeks and months to follow.

“I’ve always tried to help the club in the best way I can, and that’s how it will be until the last day,” Arbeloa told reporters after the match.

“I’m not at all worried [about my future], and I will understand perfectly any decision that the club takes.

“I’m a man of the club. If I’m hurt today, it’s not for me. It’s for Real Madrid and because this year we will not win our 16th [Champions League title].”

Failure is rarely tolerated under Real President Florentino Perez without someone paying the price.

When Arbeloa was promoted in January, Madrid did not state the length of his contract, suggesting he had no long-term guarantees.

The coach has found it hard to motivate the squad at times in La Liga and has only 13 victories in 21 matches at the helm.

In his first game in charge, Real’s superstars were knocked out of the Copa del Rey by second-tier Albacete.

Yet his bold, attacking lineup against Bayern almost paid off.

Arbeloa left Camavinga and Thiago Pitarch on the bench and opted for an aggressive midfield trio of Jude Bellingham, Federico Valverde and Turkish playmaker Arda Guler, who struck twice.

Ultimately, it was not enough, and Real will likely fail to win any silverware for a second successive season for the first time since the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 campaigns.

How to solve a Real problem like Mbappe, Vinicius and Bellingham

Perhaps Madrid’s biggest problem remains one that neither Ancelotti could solve last season nor Alonso in his short time at the helm: how to fit Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr and Bellingham into the same side without losing balance.

Arbeloa could argue that the Bayern second leg showed it is possible with England international Bellingham impressive, Mbappe on the scoresheet and Vinicius hitting the woodwork.

Yet the energy and effort the star trio put into this game were beyond their regular performances this season and unlikely to be replicated on lesser occasions.

Not to mention, the team still conceded four goals.

Real’s anger at the pivotal decision to send off Camavinga and their gutsy display could help Arbeloa, but whether it is enough to save his job, only time will tell.

There is no obvious replacement for Perez to turn to either.

The final weeks of the season in La Liga may have a say in Arbeloa’s prospects, including Real’s performance in the Clasico against Barcelona on May 10 when the Catalans could capture the title.

It may be a grim procession to the end of May, but Arbeloa said his team had “no other choice” but to keep on trudging and defend the club’s badge for as long as he is in charge.

Who are the favourites to be the new Real Madrid manager?

One name has been on Real’s lips since his departure from Liverpool, where he ended an agonising wait for Premier League glory, and that is Jurgen Klopp.

The German was immediately made the favourite to replace Alonso in January before Arbeloa’s interim appointment.

Klopp enjoyed seven successful years at Borussia Dortmund before he was appointed as Liverpool’s manager in 2015.

The 58-year-old departed Anfield with Premier League and Champions League titles to his name, the former bringing the first success for the Merseyside club on that front in 30 years.

Klopp described reports in March that he had already been contacted by Madrid about a summer takeover as “nonsense”, but the rumours will continue until the new appointment is made.

Zinedine Zidane continues to be linked with all the top clubs across Europe and has already had two stints in charge at Real.

The former France midfielder won the Champions League three times in a row in his first stint in charge from 2016 to 2018.

His second stint, from 2019 to 2021, was not quite so successful, but given the dark days of soul searching ahead, perhaps only one of the club’s greatest Galacticos can bring an immediate smile back to the faces of the Real faithful.

Didier Deschamps has had an astonishing 14-year tenure as France manager and will lead the two-time winners at this summer’s World Cup.

One of those titles came under Deschamps’ tutelage in 2018 while the other he secured as a player in 1998, but even another win this summer will surely not extend an extraordinarily long period at the helm of his nation.

The former midfielder has previous club experience with Monaco, Juventus and Marseille, but it has been his exploits in charge of the French national team that have cemented him as one of the top coaches in the game.

Other names in the reckoning are Aston Villa’s Spanish coach Unai Emery, who has taken the English club from midtable obscurity at best to being unlikely contenders for the Premier League title, and Massimiliano Allegri, who led Juventus to five consecutive league titles in his first spell with the Turin-based club – and a Champions League final.

The 58-year-old Italian’s second stint in charge was not so glorious and ended after two seasons – and indeed only two days after an Italian Cup success.

Allegri’s experience in the game fits the usual requirements of a Real manager coming with a vast backlog of credentials and success.

Whether it is an Italian, a Spaniard, a German or one of the two Frenchmen mentioned, a revolutionary change does indeed seem a Real necessity in Madrid.