Real Madrid are considering renewing the contracts of Toni Kroos and Luka Modric.
Both players’ deals expire on June 30 and this is the first time this season that Madrid have considered extending the midfielders’ stay at the club beyond the end of the campaign.
The the idea since last summer has been that at least one of the two players would leave after the 2023-2024 campaign. This would also help to lighten the wage bill, with the two players among the highest paid members of the squad.
Luka Modric was the main candidate to depart as he turns 39 in September and his role has decreased this season. This initially concerned him at the beginning of the season because when he renewed his contract last June he was informed his status would not change. In reality, the Croatian has played only 2,140 minutes, the 13th most in the squad, during which he has contributed two goals and eight assists.
The 2018 Ballon d’Or winner’s preference is to stay at Madrid. There have been reports in Spain that his departure has been agreed but The Athletic was told that Modric had yet to meet with the club to reach an agreement one way or the other. This was confirmed by one of the Croatian’s agents last weekend.
With Kroos there was a willingness to keep him at the club as long as he feels good physically and mentally. The 34-year-old Germany midfielder, who will be at this summer’s European Championship in his homeland after returning from international retirement, has played 3,007 minutes (the sixth-most in the squad), scoring one goal and providing nine assists.
Because of Real’s success this season, winning La Liga and reaching the Champions League final, and the impressive individual performances, the club is looking again at both players’ futures.
Coach Carlo Ancelotti wants both Kroos and Modric to stay. He believes their performances have been excellent and also values the competitiveness they display and the culture that they pass on to their teammates on a daily basis at Valdebebas.
The outcome of both cases will be known in the coming weeks.
(Oscar Del Pozo/AFP via Getty Images)
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