“Can I have silence, everyone?” barks a stereotypically agitated Spanish director at this chattiest of Madrid television studios. He’s telling, not asking. “We’ve got a dog on set.” In an instant, James Rodriguez looks over his left shoulder as Sandy, a three-year-old brown and white bulldog, enters the room behind his owner. Barely able to contain his excitement, Real Madrid’s latest Galactico zooms over to the 35cm-long cluster of trotting skin folds, doleful expressions and the occasional sneeze. “Isn’t he cute?!” coos James, kneeling down to give Sandy a stroke, caring not a jot about the director. “How old is he? You know, I could do this all day!”
Minutes later, the studio’s two biggest attractions are in front of the camera and riffing off each other. At one point,…
