REAL MADRID
Which Real Madrid players are going to stay next season? Kroos, Benzema, Modric, Ceballos, Hazard...
After the Copa del Rey final win, various Real Madrid players hinted about their future with or without the club next season.
Real Madrid beat Osasuna 2-1 in the Copa del Rey final in Sevilla to win the trophy for the twentieth time, and one that had evaded them since 2014. One benefit of this win, from the point of view of both curious journalists and eager fans, was that the victory atmosphere made the players calmer and more open in the game’s aftermath: during a Champions League night or a tense LaLiga title deciding game, the protagonists of the show are normally reserved and incredibly hard to crack, but not on the night they won the Copa, with many winking, nudging and hinting about their futures with the club.
Benzema is one player whose future has been tossed up in the air and has not yet crashed down to earth, at least until recently. It became known that Real Madrid activated a clause in his contract that, upon winning the Ballon d’Or, he could sign for an extra year with the club. The French forward will continue until he is at least 36-years-old, and when asked about the situation of his colleagues, he simply said “everybody’s staying”. Make of that what you will.
Kroos: “I will always be a Madridista”
Because things aren’t that cut and dry, as some players have their future more sorted than others. Take Toni Kroos, for example, who has a renewal in the pipeline for one more season at the club, with the news even breaking that it is all signed and sealed, waiting to be made public.
The German’s offer has been on the table for a long time and it was always going to be down to his personal decision, having even thought about retirement despite being just 33-years-old. However, in the end, it seems as though another year at Madrid is on the cards: when asked about the decision, he responded by saying “I will always be a Madridista”.
Nacho is ‘in contact with the club’
Nacho, whose situation was explained by AS a few days ago, also passed through the mixed zone: he has had an offer on the table since the start of the season but the club are waiting for a response. He is weighing up his options as the contract offers from England are longer, and Rüdiger’s arrival had cut his playing time down at the Bernabéu. But Madrid are confident he will continue and they will not put pressure on him to decide now, preferring to wait until he has made a decision. “I am in contact with the club, I want to spend this season here and then we’ll see”, he said.
Someone who did not want to talk about their future, unlike the rest of his teammates, was Dani Ceballos, who missed the final through injury. Contact has started between the club and his representatives to offer him an extension. He puts the sporting project above the economic terms of a contract: both the futures of Kroos and Modric, as well as the potential arrival of Bellingham, will condition his decision.
Hazard wants to stay
Mariano did not speak either, and he is another player whose contract is up at the end of June. However, his future is less linked with the club, and will leave the club to search for more playing time, something he has not had for a while in Spain. Hazard, for his part, who has a deal that runs until 2024, reminded everyone that he wanted to stay, saying “I want to see out the year I’ve got left”. Madrid, however, would prefer him to leave as the Belgian takes up a European place in the squad as well as €30 million of budget.
Modric has a mega-money offer from Asia
“I don’t know”, said Marco Asensio when asked where his future lay next season. The forward does not have an offer from the club as of yet but his idea is to stay at the club. However, Brahim is returning next season and will occupy the same position and role that Asensio has now.
Modric, in a somewhat similar was to Asensio, explained that “the idea is to carry on at Madrid, we’ll see what happens.” The Croatian midfielder has a huge offer from Saudi Arabia but his priority is to continue with Los Blancos. And what happens with Bellingham, the played who is already being labelled as the successor to Modric, will have a key impact on the decision of the number 10.
