These are strange times in European football. For the first time in four years we will have a Champions League winner other than Real Madrid. For the first time in nine years Real will not even be in the final four of the competition, let alone the last eight. The club's demolition at the hands of Ajax on Tuesday night spells the end of an era.

This is a club that is accustomed to winning. This is a club for whom a slow start to the season is never usually a concern; they know how to peak in the most important part of the season. It didn't matter that they lost to Tottenham in last season's group stages because they hit form in the knockout rounds. Spurs went out in the round of 16 and Real won a third straight Champions League. That's what Real Madrid do.

This time, though, after the kind of unconvincing first leg victory in Amsterdam that felt like it was either the mark of champions or signs of cracks appearing, Real fell apart at the hands of a younger, more dynamic, willing Ajax team in the return fixture.

The nature of Tuesday night's defeat in the context of their season hints at something far more serious than a blip.