Real Madrid News
Modric talks Bellingham, Vinicius, UCL, contract renewal ahead of Liverpool vs Real Madrid
Real Madrid will face one of their biggest tests of the season tomorrow when they lock horns with Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League at Anfield.
The Merengues face their opponents from the last season’s finals at the Round of 16 this time out, with the first leg taking place at Anfield.
Real Madrid head into Tuesday’s contest on the back of a late win over Osasuna in La Liga and will be hoping to return with a victory from England.
On the eve of the game, manager Carlo Ancelotti and veteran midfielder Luka Modric attended the press conference. Following are the snippets of the latter’s interaction with the media ahead of the blockbuster encounter.
On facing Liverpool: “Tomorrow’s game is very important. It will be difficult, against a tough rival. We have to play a great game to win. We have to show our best level.”
On his fitness levels after the World Cup: “I feel better after the World Cup. I made a mistake because I started to play immediately while I needed to recover. Now I feel better.”
On his contract renewal: “I’m calm. I can’t say anything because I have not talked to the club yet, like last season. Of course I want to stay but because I I deserve it, not because I’m Luka Modric.”
“Whatever happens regarding my future, my relationship with Real Madrid will never change. This is the club of my life. I want the club to renew my contract because I deserve it and not because of my history.”
“I don’t want the club to gift me anything. I want and need to show I deserve to continue. That’s what I will do.”
On questions about whether he and Kroos can play together: “I’m not annoyed by the people who say me and Kroos can’t play together. We did it before the World Cup and we won games. We also lost games in the past.”
On the young talent at Real Madrid: “Our youngsters are doing very well. They will have a great future with Real Madrid. They’re all very good.”
On whether Jude Bellingham’s arrival will affect his renewal: “I think this has nothing to do with my renewal.”
On Vinicius Jr being targeted by fans: “I’m against any type of insults. The only thing Vini can do is to focus on his football and helps us. We support him and always stand by him.”
On whether the club asked him to retire from international football: “Croatia NT? Real Madrid never asked me to leave it. The club doesn’t do this. My plan with Croatia is to play the Nations League. Then I have not decided anything. I have to think about it very well.”
On if he has a bet with Ancelotti over the number of goals he scores: “There’s no bet with Ancelotti regarding my goals (laughs). I could score more. If only I had scored that penalty…”
On the UEFA Champions League: “We hope to win the Champions League again. Winning my 6th title would be amazing.”
On facing criticism: It doesn’t bother me that people talk bad about me. The demand is maximum in this club, I know it.”
On his future: “I’m going to do everything I can to give my best and deserve to continue at Real Madrid. I can’t do more. At this time last season I hadn’t talked to the club about my renewal yet. Same this season. There’s still time. We will talk.”
Source: Real Madrid Twitter
It is astounding that despite being the biggest club in Spain, Real Madrid do not have many Spanish players to show for it.
Los Blancos do indeed boast of a special diversity in the dressing room, but their lack of locally trained players could pose problems according to MARCA.
The Spanish outlet confirms that UEFA does not mandate the inclusion of any minimum number of locally grown players for a club. However, the Spanish federation stipulates that a club in Spain must boast of at least eight players who meet a specific set of conditions.
Of the aforementioned eight candidates, there must be at least four players who have spent three seasons or 36 months at the club between the ages of 15 and 21.
Currently, only Nacho Fernandez, Dani Carvajal, Lucas Vazquez, Federico Valverde, Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo and Mariano make up the required number on that front.
The problem, however, arises with the condition for the other four players in the list of eight. RFEF stipulates that the second set of four players must have completed at least 36 months in teams attached to the federation of Spain between the ages of 15 and 21.
Only Jesus Vallejo, Alvaro Odriozola, Marco Asensio and Dani Ceballos tick the aforementioned box. However, all four players have uncertain futures at the club and are well-placed to depart in the summer.
There are thus big decisions to be taken over the transfer strategy for June. Real Madrid can work ways to ship all four players out, it would require the re-integration of players like Sergio Arribas, Miguel Gutierrez or Fran Garcia to ensure the fulfilment of the criteria.
With both Vallejo and Odriozola seemingly frozen out of Ancelotti’s plans, their departures from Santiago Bernabeu appear inevitable. Thus, the management could be forced to renew one of Asensio or Ceballos come June.
