Real Madrid News
Multiple clubs interested in poaching Real Madrid chief scout – report
Following a few difficult years after the departure of star player Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid have bounced back brilliantly. They have recalibrated their squad around young players and look ready to take Europe by storm in the years to come.
One of the reasons behind their success has been the top-notch scouting network that has been able to unearth talents such as Federico Valverde, Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo, among many others.
Real Madrid’s scouting network has been led by Juni Calafat. The 50-year-old Brazilian is the mastermind behind the club’s capture of players such as Vinicius, Rodrygo and most recently, Endrick, who joined from Palmeiras in a lucrative deal.
Calafat’s strong network, especially in his native Brazil, has helped Real Madrid build a strong base in South America. It is one of the reasons why many of the current first-team stars stem from the same continent.
To that end, a recent report from ESPN has revealed that there are a few clubs that have reached out to Juni Calafat, in light of his resounding success at Real Madrid. They have attempted to lure him away from Santiago Bernabeu.
Calafat, though, has no plans to leave Real Madrid, a club he joined in 2014. The 50-year-old feels comfortable in the Spanish capital and avoids any public appearance. He enjoys staying out of the limelight, as it grants him special advantages in the world of scouting.
And despite the apparent interest from other clubs, it appears Calafat is keen on continuing his mission at Real Madrid and helping the Whites unearth more talents in the years to come.
Juni Calafat had recently made a rare public appearance when he travelled to Dubai to receive the Scout of the Year prize at the Globe Soccer Awards.
Real Madrid are blessed to have the services and loyalty of Luka Modric and Toni Kroos. The duo have run the show in the Merengues’ midfield for close to a decade and continue to deliver flawless performances to date.
Of the two, however, it is the Croatian who deserves the higher credit. The veteran is now 37 years of age, yet dominates the middle of the park with grace and poise like none other.
Stephen Estuaqio, an FC Porto player and Canada International, spoke earlier this week about why he considered Luka Modric to be a special player and compared him with Kevin de Bruyne to support his stance.
“I played against De Bruyne, but I ran behind Modrić. I couldn’t play against him. It’s crazy how he dictates the game and controls everything. It was a lesson for me,” he said on The 90th minute on Youtube.
With his contract running out next season, Real Madrid are looking to renew his deal by one year come June. Yet, it is difficult to see him continue beyond next season and his imminent departure will mark the end of an era at the club.
Thus, Modric could be an altered role come next season. With a young midfielder, possibly Jude Bellingham set to arrive, the veteran could move into a mentorship role with the occasional appearance in big games.
This season, however, Carlo Ancelotti will continue to use him as one of the backbones of the side and deploy the maestro in the must-win fixtures coming up later this month.
At 37 years of age, Modric has started 16 La Liga games over 24 appearances this season in the competition. He has scored four goals and provided three assists in that process in addition to creating eight big chances with an average of 1.8 key passes per game.
