Real Madrid News
Real Madrid midfielder will ‘fight’ to earn a contract renewal from club – report
Real Madrid have a number of players who see their contracts expire at the end of the ongoing season. Few of them, like Luka Modric and Karim Benzema, are pretty much guaranteed to renew while Mariano Diaz is expected to move on.
However, there are some whose futures remain uncertain and one such player is midfielder Dani Ceballos. The 26-year-old has hardly played this season and could be on his way out in the summer.
But, AS reports that Ceballos is determined to prove himself at Real Madrid and will fight to earn a new contract from the club.
Signed from Real Betis in 2017, the Spaniard was tipped for a bright future at Madrid but things have just not clicked for him at the capital club.
After spending a couple of years away on loan at Arsenal. Upon returning last year, he succumbed to an injury that kept him out of action for the first half of the 2021/22 season and he featured sporadically towards the back end.
While it was expected that Ceballos would leave this summer, manager Carlo Ancelotti convinced him to stay for another year. And the midfielder did fairly well whenever given an opportunity, although considering the competition for places game-time has been hard to come by.
Indeed, the 26-year-old has played just 209 minutes of football this season and has one assist to his name. However, in that time, he has shown that there is still a lot that he can offer to the team. And with a busy period ahead right after the World Cup break, Ceballos could get his chances.
After all, Luka Modric, Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga have gone deep into the World Cup and will need to be managed carefully upon their return.
And, Ceballos, who started training for the second half of the campaign on December 1, is working hard to make himself count and earn a renewal from Real Madrid so that he can stay beyond the current campaign.
According to a report from journalist Jorge C Picon, former Tottenham Hotspur and PSG boss Mauricio Pochettino is in pole position to become the next manager of Real Madrid, if Carlo Ancelotti leaves at the end of the season.
Ancelotti’s topic has become a topic of much debate and discussion over the past few weeks. The Italian tactician has a contract that runs until next year and has stated that he wishes to see it out.
However, the team’s failure to win any major title this season could end up spelling trouble or the 63-year-old. The La Liga title looks like a lost cause already while Real Madrid are in a disadvantageous position in Copa del Rey as well.
The UEFA Champions League remains Ancelotti’s best bet to win a trophy this season. Should he do so, the Italian could continue at Real Madrid or even possibly sign a new contract extension.
But, failure to land the trophy could end his second stint at the Santiago Bernabeu and Pochettino is said to be the frontrunner for the position in that case.
The Argentine is currently unemployed after being sacked by PSG in July last year. The 51-year-old did not have the most memorable of stints in Paris but his stock has not diminished in the Real Madrid offices, who had considered appointing him once before as well.
Thomas Tuchel was also a candidate for Real Madrid and talks were also held with him. But, the club informed him that if Ancelotti won the UCL, he would stay on, which played a part in the German signing for Bayern Munich.
Meanwhile, club legend Raul Gonzalez, who is currently the manager of Real Madrid Castilla, is also a candidate, but is seen only as Plan B, with Pochettino very much the frontrunner at this point.
A lot will depend on how the rest of the season pans out and whether Ancelotti is able to lead Real Madrid to back-to-back Champions League triumphs.
