:quality(75)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/elcomercio/Q7HDBX6BVJACFHVMVA6JGF2NYA.jpg)
Luka Modric is one of the players who has been making headlines in the lead-up to the match between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, to be played this Sunday for the final of the Spanish Super Cup. Not precisely because he will be a starter at the King Fahd Stadium in Saudi Arabia, but because of the decision that Carlo Ancelotti would have made about his future. According to the Catalan website El Nacional, the Italian coach has decided against the continuity of the veteran Croatian midfielder for the 2023-24 season.
As reported by the aforementioned source, the Madrid coach is not in favor of the sports management renewing Modric's contract, which expires on June 30 of this year. For the Italian, the issue is simple: the Balkan player's age, 37 years old, is already a limiting factor to see him at his best level again.
Ancelotti is convinced that Luka is no longer the same as in previous seasons, and it has become evident after his return from the World Cup. The decline of the former Tottenham player raises concerns for 'Carletto', so his decision to the Madrid board is that the '10' is no longer part of the first team.
In the Spanish Super Cup semi-final against Valencia, Ancelotti showed what he has decided about Modric's future. He opted for a midfield made up of Kroos, Valverde, and Camavinga, with the German occupying the central axis of the field. The Croatian crack had to play alone in the second half.
Which players are out of contract at Real Madrid?
In addition to Modric, it is worth remembering that Real Madrid has seven players on its squad who are out of contract next summer and have not yet signed their renewal: Karim Benzema, Toni Kroos, Dani Ceballos, Nacho Fernández, Mariano Díaz, and Marco Asensio.
Several of them, such as Nacho or Mariano, have already made it clear that they will no longer wear the white shirt from next season; others, such as Kroos, Ceballos, or Asensio, have an uncertain future and have not yet made any decisions about where they will play next season.
Receiveour newsletter: we will send you the best sports content, as Depor always does.