In the wildest dreams of Floren-tino Pérez, the construction magnate turned sports mogul, the most glorious monuments are those built on foundations of sand.

They are awe-inspiring structures, captivating in their beauty, and they exist as a tribute to Real Madrid and their ability to prove that football is about fame, flair and commercial appeal, not professionalism, discipline, spirit and tactics, and certainly not coaches.

Pérez talked about another dream of his yesterday, the one in which Real welcome AC Milan, their opponents this evening, to the Bernabéu on May 22 for a Champions League final between the competition’s two most successful clubs. That, in theory, is a tempting reverie, but there is something about the modern Real that, whatever the flair of Cristiano Ronaldo, absent tonight because of an ankle injury, and Kaká, makes it hard to admire what the club have become.

In marketing terms, Real’s growth over the nine years since Pérez began his first tenure as president has been phenomenal. Largely through the signings of the galácticos — Luís Figo, Zinédine Zidane, Ronaldo, the Brazilian, David Beckham — the club’s commercial appeal has soared through lucrative sponsorship and broadcasting deals all over the world. They have supplanted Manchester United as the world’s richest club, but, having failed to get beyond the first knockout stage of the Champions League since 2004, at what cost to their proud tradition of being the best on the pitch?

While the locals drooled in anticipation of the return to the San Siro of Kaká — which, it is fair to say, overshadowed Milan’s announcement that Beckham will return on loan from the Los Angeles Galaxy in January — there was an alarming sense of déjà vu about Real’s pre-match press conference last night. The first theme was the unfavourable treatment of a centre forward who is outperforming some of his more celebrated team-mates (for Fernando Morientes or even Michael Owen then, read Gonzalo Higuaín now) and the second was the incessant pressure on a coach, Manuel Pellegrini, who has no shortage of predecessors with whom to compare experiences.

Real have lost only once in La Liga this season and are a point behind Barcelona, the European champions. They lost 3-2 at home to Milan last month and — less importantly but far more embarrassingly — 4-0 away to Alcorcón in the Copa del Rey last week, but, under the circumstances, Pellegrini, who was advised to go on holiday while Pérez and his cohorts embarked on their astonishing £220 million spending spree in the summer (£170 million on forwards, £33 million on midfield players and £17 million on defenders), is so far doing about as well as anyone might reasonably expect.

In the interests of alleviating the pressure on Pellegrini, after reports in some of Pérez’s favoured media outlets linked Roberto Mancini and José Mourinho, Inter Milan coaches past and present, with the job, the president issued a vote of confidence on Sunday evening. Here it is: “In the newspapers have appeared the names of some great coaches, but we are content with Pellegrini and we are sure that we will end the season positively. Respect to the press and everything that is said, but, in the end, it is the club that decides and we are very contended as we are. We must have patience. Real Madrid will have a marvellous season.” The problem is not the message, but the tone.

Deference is shown to the coaches linked with the job and even to the media, with whom Pérez has a toe-curling mutual attraction, but the contentment with Pellegrini is skirted over. It is as if the identity of the man in the dugout is an irrelevance at a club who have changed coach nine times in as many years. The contrast with the English system, where the manager is such a central and firmly entrenched figure, is obvious, but, among Real’s domestic rivals, Barcelona seem to do well out of aligning themselves to the vision of Pep Guardiola and, before him, Frank Rijkaard, while Villarreal did not do badly out of Pellegrini in his five seasons there.

At the San Siro last night, Pellegrini exuded nothing like the assurance he had at Villarreal. “I’m not worried,” he said, looking worried. “Pérez has reaffirmed his plan. Of course this match is important and the three points are crucial. Overall, our situation is positive. We are [joint] first in our Champions League group, one point behind Barcelona in La Liga and still in the Copa del Rey. If problems arise, we shall confront them and find the solution together.”

This evening, it would seem that that the solution must involve Kaká, the Milan idol who briefly became the world’s most expensive player when he moved to Madrid for £56 million in June, particularly since Ronaldo, who subsequently arrived from United for £80 million, is injured. Kaká is still adored in Milan and when he said that he is hoping for a “nice reception”, the welcome that he got at Malpensa airport yesterday lunchtime should have told him that this is going to be an occasion to enjoy.

On the opposing side will be another Brazilian playmaker, Ronaldinho, eager to show the world that his move to Milan has reignited his career rather than signified the start of a long goodbye. The former Barcelona forward has endured a dramatic fall from grace over the past three years, but his form at Milan in recent weeks has been much improved, something that he put down to the influence of Leonardo, the club’s Brazilian coach.

“With Leonardo, I’m happy,” Ronaldinho said. “Football is like this. Right now I feel good and I’m happy and when I feel like this, things work better.” Not that Leonardo is proven at Milan yet by any means, but this was another illustration of the influence a coach can hold.

Silvio Berlusconi, the Milan president, might be guilty of many things — including, it increasingly appears, an attempt to re-create a galáctico system at Milan, albeit one based on players whose stars are fading — but even he is prepared to give his coach a little breathing space once in a while.

AC Milan (possible; 4-2-3-1): Dida — M Oddo, K Kaladze, Thiago Silva, G Zambrotta — G Gattuso, A Pirlo — A Pato, C Seedorf, Ronaldinho — M Borriello.

Real Madrid (4-2-2-2): I Casillas — Sergio Ramos, Pepe, R Albiol, Á Arbeloa — L Diarra, X Alonso — Kaká, Raúl — K Benzema, G Higuaín.

Referee: F Brych (Germany)