Real Madrid News
Real Madrid defender has become one of Ancelotti’s leaders of the team – report
Real Madrid defender Eder Militao has been immensely influential for the team in the last couple of years. The 25-year-old, who joined the capital club in 2019 from Porto for a reported €50 million transfer fee, is slowly becoming Carlo Ancelotti’s go-to man.
According to AS (h/t Madrid Xtra), the Brazilian defender has become one of Ancelotti’s team leaders. The publication further explains that the locker room absolutely loves him and the player has the full support of his manager and the coaching staff.
The 25-year-old has featured in 30 games across all competitions for the team this season which includes 19 outings in La Liga, five appearances in the UEFA Champions League and three appearances in Copa del Rey.
Despite joining Madrid in 2019, Militao’s influence and regularity only grew in the 2021-22 season. This happened mostly because Real Madrid parted ways with Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane.
The Brazilian formed a partnership with David Alaba under Ancelotti last season and he went on to make 50 appearances across all competitions for the team.
This season, the 25-year-old’s partners have changed between Alaba, Antonio Rudiger and Nacho. Despite the changing of partners, Militao has been one of Los Blancos’ most solid performers.
Furthermore, the 2022-23 season has been quite good for the 25-year-old on a personal note, having scored five goals across three competitions. With this, he has matched his personal best figure of five goals in a single season that he scored during the 2018-19 campaign for Porto.
MIlitao’s presence in Madrid’s defence brings a sense of assurance. Now, clean sheets have been hard to come by for the team this season, but the Brazilian has made sure he puts on his best performance every time he steps on the field.
Militao’s current contract with Real Madrid runs until 2025, but he is understood to have agreed a new contract until 2028 with a release clause of €500 million in place.
Real Madrid prospect Alexis Ciria will have to wait for his Champions League opportunity despite making a strong impression on Jose Mourinho during pre-season.
The Castilla winger has been left out of Real Madrid’s European squad, but the decision is the consequence of UEFA registration rules rather than a sporting judgment.
According to journalist Arancha Rodriguez (h/t Defensa Central), Ciria was not eligible for Madrid’s List B because he has not been with the club long enough to satisfy UEFA’s requirements.
Registering him would therefore have required Mourinho to include him on the more restrictive List A.
UEFA rules work against Ciria
List B provides clubs with additional flexibility to register young academy players, but being young enough is not sufficient on its own.
Players must also meet requirements concerning how long they have been eligible to represent the club.
Ciria does not meet those conditions because of his limited time at Valdebebas. Real Madrid would therefore have needed to sacrifice a List A position to register him.
With those places required for members of Mourinho’s senior squad, Ciria was ultimately left out.
Real Madrid’s List B instead includes youngsters such as Joan Martinez, Mario Rivas, Thiago Pitarch, Jorge Cestero and Daniel Yanez.
Many of these youngsters made a name for themselves under Mourinho during pre-season and could be used to make up the numbers in the Champions League squad.
They could also get some minutes off the bench, especially against relatively easier opposition, as Jose Mourinho looks to manage first-team minutes.
Mourinho still plans first-team opportunity
Importantly for Ciria, missing the Champions League squad does not appear to reflect a change in Mourinho’s opinion of him.
The youngster impressed during pre-season and is expected to continue spending time around the senior team.
Mourinho intends to give Ciria his official first-team debut during the season. That opportunity will now have to arrive in La Liga or the Copa del Rey.
The Portuguese tactician placed a lot of emphasis on trusting Castilla players during pre-season in the absence of first-team stars.
Ciria was one of the many names who made a name for themselves at Real Madrid during pre-season. He deserves a chance in the first team, and it remains to be seen how Jose plans his development.
