At a press conference this Friday, the club merengue coach expressed his optimism about the future extension of three of his stars.
Will Karim Benzema, Toni Kroos and Luka Modric be Madrid next season? Real coach Carlo Ancelotti showed his confidence in the matter on Friday as the trio discuss extending their contracts, which run out at the end of the season. “I think they will stay“, estimated the Italian coach, noting that”discussionswere in progress for Kroos and Modric.
Benzema, Modric and Kroos have been at Real Madrid since 2009, 2012 and 2014 respectively, and have won a multitude of titles, including several Champions League, with this club. Now 35, the French striker had arrived from Lyon, while the Croatian midfielder (37) had joined Real from Tottenham. As for Kroos (33), he had signed with the merengues while playing at Bayern Munich. But while the three 30-somethings remain Real Madrid centrepieces, Ancelotti warned that seeking an extension to their contracts should not exempt leaders from thinking beyond their cases.
«We must also think about the day when they will stop. (…) We have to look at the future of the club from another angle“, judged the Italian technician. “We have fantastic young players, (Eduardo) Camavinga, (Aurélien) Tchouaméni, (Federico) Valverde and (Dani) Ceballos, who will symbolize (another) era“, commented Ancelotti, whose future at Real is itself undecided since he recently said he was courted by the Brazilian selection.
This season, Real Madrid is still qualified in the Champions League, of which it is the defending champion, and obtained its ticket for the King’s Cup final on Wednesday after a demonstration (0-4) at Camp Nou against FC Barcelona. In La Liga, the White House should however lose its title in favor of the Catalan rival, who has a 12-point lead after 27 days. On Saturday, Real host Villarreal while Barca will host neighbor Girona on Monday.