Real Madrid News
Real Madrid veteran stops renewal negotiations, unhappy with current role
Real Madrid have several players in their squad whose contracts will expire at the end of the ongoing campaign.
While the likes of Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and Karim Benzema are expected to be renewed by another year, Mariano Diaz and possibly Dani Ceballos could be allowed to leave. Marco Asensio, too, could earn a new contract after recent performances.
However, one player who the club wants to renew, but is showing hesitations at the moment is veteran defender Nacho Fernandez.
Indeed, according to MARCA, the 32-year-old cantera has stopped renewal negotiations with the club as he is currently unhappy with his role in the team and wants to wait and see if things change over the course of the coming months.
Nacho has been at Real Madrid for 21 years now and has always had the idea of retiring as a one-club man. However, he is not entirely pleased with his role in the current season as his minutes have dried up since the arrival of Antonio Rudiger.
Indeed, the Spanish international is having to compete with Eder Militao, David Alaba and Rudiger for a starting berth at the heart of the defence, restricting him to just four starts thus far, while playing just 414 minutes across Los Blancos’ 21 matches across all competitions.
In comparison, at this point in last season, Nacho had played 15 matches, with ten of them as a starter and had accumulated over 900 minutes.
Given the difference, it is understandable for the player to have concerns over his role in the team and as a result, Nacho has put his contract talks on hold despite having a one-year offer on the table from the Merengues.
The 32-year-old will take stock of his situation in the coming months and decide whether to ink a new deal or move on from the club based on his role in Carlo Ancelotti’s plans.
Real Madrid News
Real Madrid midfielder trained away from the group last week, but has no injury – report
With the international break underway, several Real Madrid players have been called up for national team assignments. The stars who have not travelled for international duty have continued to work at the club’s Valdebebas training facility to prepare for the restart.
Toni Kroos is one such player who has remained in Madrid, having retired from international football back in 2021.
However, there had been concerns growing around the 33-year-old’s physical condition as he regularly did indoor work last week and was not spotted in group training with his teammates.
Now, Sergio Quirante has come up with an update on Kroos’ situation, stating that even though the midfielder largely did individual work inside the facilities over the last week, he is fine and has no injuries.
Taking advantage of the international break, the former Bayern Munich superstar is understood to have gone through an individual program to prepare for the final, decisive stretch of the 2022/23 season.
Kroos not being injured comes as a big positive for Real Madrid, ahead of important games against Real Valladolid and Barcelona within the first five days of April.
The rest of the Real Madrid midfield contingent – Luka Modric, Eduardo Camavinga, Aurelien Tchouameni, Federico Valverde, and Dani Ceballos – are all away on international duties and could return with some fatigue from the travel.
So, it is important that Kroos is fully fit and ready to go as Real Madrid look to cut down the gap to the top of the table in La Liga and also make it to the finals of the Copa del Rey by overturning a first-leg deficit against Barcelona in the semi-finals.
Kroos has played 37 matches this season, chipping in with two goals and five assists in the process. With his contract expiring at the end of the season, it is still unclear whether he will renew or hang up his boots.
