At the end of the season it is time for signings and renewals. Madrid has on the table the files of several players close to fulfilling their contract. The most immediate is that of Modric, which ends this same month of June and with whom there will be no problems. By 2023 there are five players. Three of them veterans, Benzema, Kroos and Nacho, immersed in this policy of extensions year after year. Two others, Asensio and Ceballos, with an uncertain future at a mature stage in their careers with an uncertain future.
Modric
Zadar’s, who will turn 37 in September, is the most ‘urgent’ case. In quotes, because his contract expires at the end of the month, but the harmony between the player and the club has been total for months. The Croatian already entered at that age in the club’s policy to face renewals year after year. So he did last summer. His performance this season, where a sublime and decisive Modric has been seen again at key moments (His teammates and even Florentino Pérez came to claim a new Ballon d’Or for him after the Super Cup final), they do not harbor any doubt about the suitability of his renewal. He will end the season as the fifth longest player to wear the Real Madrid shirt.
Benzema
From Ballon d’Or to top candidate for the award. Nobody would say, after completing by far the best season of his career, that Karim is 34 years old. He has not accused neither age nor his return to the France team, which has loaded him with more games. Quite the contrary. He has scored 44 goals in 45 matches. He has also entered into that dynamic of signing year after year, although the movements are anticipated. The French striker ends in 2023, after last August he extended his contract for one more season.
Kroos
The 32-year-old German retired last summer from the German team to dedicate himself exclusively to Real Madrid. The German signed his last contract, until 2023, in the last round of renewals before the pandemic, in May 2019. He missed the start of the season to treat pubalgia. Of the three in midfield, he has been the one who has played the least (3,398′, 39 less than Modric). His intention is to continue. “I will retire in Madrid, I am completely sure. I think that in 2023 [el año en que termina contrato] it is ideal and deliberately chosen. By then I will be 33 years old. Then we can sit down and decide together if we want to extend the relationship for another year or two. I am completely open to that possibility,” Toni said last summer.
Nacho
A gem from the quarry. A more usual expression to refer to a novel but that goes like a glove to the defense. His versatility has made him once again an important piece in any contingency for Ancelotti, who affectionately described him as “pessimistic” to assess his attitude on the field. He earned his renewal for two seasons in 2021 after being fundamental in the final stretch of that campaign and he has been again in this one. Started in 26 games, including the second leg of the three Champions League qualifiers. Except for Chelsea, he played all three games. At 32 years old, he is on his way to being a one club man.
Asensio
One of the hottest renovations. The 26-year-old Spaniard’s contract ends in 2023 and, after six seasons at the club, he has not finished finding his place. There was a moment in the final stretch of the season when third place in the attack, accompanying Benzema and Vinicius, seemed theirs, but Valverde and Rodrygo took the lead. Since the quarterfinals, he only played two minutes in Manchester and 45 minutes (he came on in the 75th minute) in the comeback against City. He needs minutes to keep growing. In April he changed agents and placed his future in the hands of Jorge Mendes. A fretwork movement for a busy summer ahead. He has quite a market and has returned to the National Team to the praise of Luis Enrique. “Asensio’s shot doesn’t have more than six players in the world.”
Ceballos
The Andalusian has been seeing the light as the season hastened to its end. He was returning after two seasons on loan at Arsenal and the injury he suffered in the Games destroyed the entire first half of the season. Ancelotti has tried to transmit all his confidence. First with words and then with deeds. He has been entering his plans with a dropper. Ceballos, who will turn 26 in August, fully played the final match for the League and Carletto took advantage of one of the changes in the Champions League final was to give him entry. There was a moment of the season when his return to Betis seemed on track, but now he has a dilemma before him: end his time at Real Madrid in search of minutes or bet that he will have the minutes to settle in the white team and win the renewal beyond 2023.
Mayoral
if he comes back, He has options to stay as a second striker, but that hypothesis depends on what happens with Jovic and Mariano. The Parla striker renewed until 2023 when he left on loan to Roma in the summer of 2020. The club yellow Red It has a purchase option for 20 million euros that it will not execute. Mayoral recently stated that his intention is to carry out the preseason with Madrid.