Real Madrid Veteran Stars to Remain at the Club?

Another season is over for Real Madrid, as they won their 36th La Liga title in the 2023-24 season. 

Despite the 4-4 draw on the final match day against Villareal, Real Madrid were convincingly ahead in the points table to take a comfortable lead against second-placed Barcelona. 

Fans who had tickets from a secondary market were fortunate to get last-minute access to the season finale, but they did not see Real Madrid win. However, the points-share fixture concluded a dominant La Liga season for the men in white. 

Now, the club is looking ahead to the new season and is expected to sign a few big stars. In addition, the club is also considering breaking protocol to extend contracts for a few players. 

Dani Carvajal Extended? 

In one case that relates to Dani Carvajal, who could win his record sixth Champions League title on June 1, there is a rumor that the club is looking to secure the defender’s future on a long-term basis. 

Sources close to Real Madrid claim that the club is offering him a new contract to keep him at the club until 2026 or longer. 

The right-back’s current contract expires in the summer of 2025, meaning that he will head into the 2024/25 campaign with only 12 months left on his existing deal unless he puts pen to paper on an extension before then.

It is not unusual for Los Blancos to look to extend the contracts of key players, but in this case, it does break the norms. Most of the team’s veterans over 30 cannot negotiate their contracts in the final 12 months, as is the case currently with key players like Toni Kroos and Luka Modrić.

However, Carvajal could have it all tied up much earlier, and the report even claims that the club may break its policy by offering him a two-year extension to 2027, which would keep him at the club until he is 35.

Part of that could be due to Carvajal’s impressive fitness, which has allowed him to reach the business end of the 2023/24 campaign in fine form and peak shape. The Spanish international has improved as the season has progressed and now looks to be in optimal form to take on Dortmund in London.

Many feared that Carvajal’s career was ending after he missed 53 games through injury during the 2020/21 campaign, but he has since been relatively injury-free and fine-tuned his fitness to a tee. He has missed only two games this season due to injury, down from five in 2022/23.

With Nacho’s imminent departure as his contract expires, Dani Carvajal is in prime position to step up and become the club’s official vice-captain. The captaincy, awarded according to length of time at the club, would pass on to Luka Modrić, who could depart this summer when his contract expires unless a deal is reached before June 30.

In any case, Carvajal would likely don the armband regularly, given that Modrić has only started 23 of the team’s 53 games this season. For the fans who’ve been loyal to the club with tickets from a secondary market, Carvajal has been exceptional. Despite his age, he has stood up as a leadership figure right from the start, and they, too, feel it is fitting that he gets an extended contract. 

Much like Karim Benzema, who was deputy to Marcelo in his final season, Carvajal would be the captain for many games, just as he has this season done on 12 occasions while being third in the pecking order.

French President Wants Real to Release Mbappe for Olympics 

With French superstar Kylian Mbappe set to leave PSG at the end of the season, the reality that he will soon be a Real Madrid player is coming to life. 

With that in mind, French President Emmanuel Macron hoped Kylian Mbappé would play in this year’s Paris Olympic Games.

The France striker confirmed on Friday that he would leave Paris Saint-Germain, and he has been strongly linked with a move to Real Madrid.

“I have no particular comment to make other than that I am counting upon Real Madrid to free up Kylian for the Olympic Games so he can play with the French team,” Macron said in a video posted on his X account.

Before the exit was announced, Mbappe had always said he wanted to be a part of the French squad for the Olympics, which would start in the summer in Paris. 

Regardless of the chatter around the move, Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti refused to be drawn into talking about Mbappé’s expected arrival in Madrid.

“It’s a subject I’m not thinking about at the moment. We have a lot of things to do: today we played, and tomorrow we will celebrate. And then we have a lot of games.”

A one-time World Cup winner and hat-trick hero in the 2022 final, Mbappé, 25, has played 77 times for France and scored a goal in the 2018 World Cup final against Croatia to help his team win the trophy.

Fans with tickets from a secondary market for Real Madrid will anxiously await the announcement ahead of the start of the new season. 

Luka Modric to Stay? 

Real Madrid’s star midfielder Luka Modric is reportedly in talks to extend his contract at Los Blanos, having previously been linked with a move away from the club after spending 12 highly successful years. 

After witnessing their side officially be crowned the 2023-2024 La Liga champions on May 4, the celebrations were only extended for the massive Real Madrid fanbase. Multiple reports have the 2018 Ballon D’or winner willing to stay at the side for one more season. 

The 38-year-old’s contract with the Carlo Ancelotti-managed side expires in June 2024.

According to ESPN, the iconic midfield duo of Modric and Toni Kroos are set to receive new offers from the club, with the former also willing to take a significant salary reduction. 

Back in June 2023, Kroos and Modric penned similar one-year contract extensions, which ultimately saw both play another key role in the club’s recent successes. While Kroos has enjoyed more regular first-team action this season across all competitions for Real Madrid, Modric has played more of an impact sub role for the side.