(Football news) Earlier this year Real Madrid renewed Luka Modric's contract till 2022. Now less than half way through the season there have been reports that Los Blancos are already considering renewing the Croatian captain's contract for an additional year.
Modric, who turned 36 in September, is showing very little signs of slowing down. The midfielder is still dominating the midfield along with his long term partners Casemiro and Toni Kroos. The Croatian may not be able to play every single game but Carlo Ancelotti still trusts him in big games ahead of Federico Valverde, Eduardo Camavinga and Marco Asensio. Even if Modric's performance drops by 50% he wouldn't be a bad player to have in and around the squad for another year and his presence alone would help Camavinga and Valverde.
Real Madrid has a policy of not giving long term contracts to players over the age of 35 which they have kept up for a long time. Modric himself has said that a long term contract is not on his mind and he would prefer to retire at Real Madrid. The Croatian has recently said he dreams about playing at the new Santiago Bernabeu which will be ready after Modric's current contract expires. The situation can be assessed by saying that a renewal is imminent if there is any offer on the table by the Los Blancos. Modric wants to renew and now it is up to Real Madrid.
The con is that with Modric in the team is that any coach would prefer to play him over the others which will hinder the development of Camavinga and Valverde. Paul Pogba is also said to be on Madrid's radar and could be signed by Madrid which would change things. The situation would've been completely different had Modric hung up his international boots. The midfielder just led his country to another World Cup and will definitely be playing international football at least until December 2022, which from the club's point of view is a problem. International fixtures bring a lot of fatigue which is not something one wants for a player of Modric's age.
Modric certainly has the quality to play for Real Madrid but his legs will eventually run out and the club would not want another Marcelo situation. The rest of the season will be important in making the final decision. Presumably if Real Madrid don't perform well this season then there will be changes at the club, in which case it is difficult to see Modric extending his stay.
