Despite winning a Liga and Champions League double last season, there will be plenty of change at the Santiago Bernabéu. The most obvious is the arrrival of Kylian Mbappe, but with Nacho Fernandez and Toni Kroos moving on, there is also a certain changing of the guard. Luka Modric will become their fourth captain in the last four years, after Sergio Ramos, Karim Benzema and then Nacho last season.
“It’s an enormous responsibility,” Modric told RMTV, as quoted by Marca. “When you see the captains that Real Madrid has had over the years, it’s very beautiful, special, I’m very proud to be able to represent Madrid as captain.”
The 38-year-old signed a one-year extension this week with Los Blancos, and once he has turned 39, will likely become Real Madrid’s oldest ever player, surpassing Ferenc Puskas.
“I never imagined everything that has happened to me, above all spending so many years here. In part your genetics play a role, but training here, with lots of youngsters that push you to work more every day, it improves you every day. You can’t relax,” he explained, with many astounded that he continues to perform as he does, sometimes against footballers half of his age.
One of the key elements of Real Madrid’s success over recent years, in the eyes of Carlo Ancelotti, has been the dressing room culture, with the Italian frequently referring to it as the best dressing room he has ever coached.
“It’s like a family,” Modric agreed, “We’re friends and there is a good atmosphere. That influences things, but I wanted to continue because I still feel good and I think I am capable of continuing to perform at a high level. Let’s hope that all of us together can win many titles this year.”
It will be interesting to see how Ancelotti uses Modric this season. For the first time last year, Modric took on a secondary role, losing his spot to Fede Valverde, Aurelien Tchouameni, Toni Kroos and Jude Bellingham in midfield.
However with Kroos retired, and Tchouameni potentially being used in defence at times, there is a route back into the starting XI for Modric. Eduardo Camavinga is the obvious obstacle to that ambition, but while each of their midfield options have their own impressive skillset, none of them have the poise, vision or understanding that the Croatian does.
Modric is an accomplished midfield pivot player that has the vision, touch, timing and experience to start and play 70 minutes. We will see what Ancelotti sees this year. I like Modric mentions the youngsters that push him to get better. That tells me he is not going to sit still on his past laurels, but will compete for starting minutes and push his body to develop into a 70 minutes player, week after week. He reminds me a lot of the skill set and experience of another of my favorite Liga players 33-year old Antoine Griezmann.