Luka Modric. Toni Kroos. Casemiro. The midfield trio defined an era at Real Madrid — the archetypal blend of experience, skill and guile — peaking with three consecutive Champions League wins in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)
But, of course, nothing lasts forever. Casemiro left in the summer to join Manchester United, Kroos is reportedly contemplating retirement, and Luka Modric is belatedly showing his age. Kroos (33 years old) and Modric (37) are now having to battle the next generation of midfielders — Aurelien Tchouameni (23), Eduardo Camavinga (20), Federico Valverde (24) and a resurgent Dani Ceballos (26) — for a place in Madrid’s starting XI.
Coach Carlo Ancelotti is talking about a “moment of transition” and asking for “the understanding of the veterans, and the patience of the youngsters” to make it work. With the business end of the season approaching, he’s tasked with picking a midfield capable of chasing down LaLiga leaders Barcelona and beating Europe’s best in the Champions League. (That first bit is not going well: Sunday’s 1-0 defeat to Mallorca means they’re eight points behind their big rivals at the top of the table.)
Will Kroos and Modric leave this summer? Was the club right to let Casemiro go first? Can Tchouameni and Camavinga live up to their predecessors? And where would top transfer target Jude Bellingham fit in if he arrives at the Bernabeu this summer? Here’s a look at the evolution of Real Madrid’s midfield, the engine room to the club’s decade of success.
The old guard
Time waits for no man, but it had made an exception for Modric. The 2018 Ballon d’Or winner’s legs have held up longer than anyone could reasonably have expected, but the wear and tear of 18 years at the top of the sport has finally started to show. Modric remains important — he has started 13 of Madrid’s 20 LaLiga games this season, coming on as a substitute in another six — but he’s only played the full 90 minutes in two of them.
The Croatian has looked well off the pace since leading his country to the World Cup semifinals in December. He was taken off early in Madrid’s Spanish Supercopa final defeat to Barcelona, and was subsequently left out of the starting XI for league matches with Athletic Club, Real Sociedad and Mallorca. In two of those games, at San Mames and Son Moix, Modric and Kroos were both benched, for the first time in almost two years.
Kroos, meanwhile, is at a crossroads. He is still uniquely gifted, leading the LaLiga charts for progressive passes and passes into the final third. He has overcome a problem which saw him play through pain throughout 2021, suffering from pubalgia (otherwise known as a sports hernia). But it was notable that the standout moments of last season — Madrid’s Champions League comebacks against Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Manchester City — came when Kroos was subbed off and replaced by a more dynamic alternative.
“Modric and Kroos are untouchable, but that doesn’t mean they have to play every game,” Ancelotti said last month. “They’ve made history at this club, they’re making history and they will make history… They’re professionals. We talked about it at the beginning of the season. It’s a moment of transition in the squad, which everyone has to understand.”
Camavinga’s adaptation has been more erratic. He arrived a year earlier, on deadline day in August 2021, after catching the eye as a precocious teen with Rennes in Ligue 1. When the opportunity arose to sign him for a bargain fee of €31m, Madrid didn’t hesitate. Camavinga’s gifts, combining explosive physicality with outstanding technique, are undeniable, but Ancelotti feels his positioning and tactical understanding need work.
For now, Camavinga is best deployed off the bench, as games open up and his chaotic energy can swing a result in Madrid’s favour. It was Camavinga who was introduced for Kroos against PSG and Chelsea in the Champions League, shifting the momentum each time. In LaLiga this season, 11 of his 19 appearances have come as a substitute. When he starts games, he is often withdrawn early. Intriguingly, his most convincing performances have come recently in an emergency switch to left-back.
Valverde’s eventual role in this Madrid team is also yet to be defined. A nominal central midfielder, he is often deployed on the right wing by Ancelotti as an industrious alternative to Rodrygo. On Oct. 16, when Kroos tweeted “Fede Valverde top 3 in the world right now,” it was hard to disagree — Valverde had just scored a trademark outside-the-box screamer against Barcelona in El Clasico, followed by goals against Elche and Sevilla that same week. However, he’s failed to score in nine straight league appearances since, seemingly stuck in a post-World Cup slump.
A player who has forced his way into the conversation through sheer personality is Ceballos. Signed in 2017, Ceballos never convinced as a Madrid player until the last few weeks. A match-winning display off the bench against Villarreal in the Copa del Rey on Jan. 19 was followed by consistent performances against Athletic Club, Atletico Madrid, Real Sociedad and Valencia, when the Bernabeu crowd chanted “Ceballos, stay!” as he made his way off the pitch. It’s been a career-best run: let’s see if he keeps it up.
