Modric at 40 years old still records better passing stats under pressure and breakthrough balls than any Real Madrid player on the team. I know people really overthink it but Modric and Kroos were impossible players and only got better by playing together. The 1-2 seconds more that it takes a player to see the field and transfer possession makes a huge difference, think of it like quarterback play in tackle football.
The problem with that is you still have to have your front players position well for an outlet which both Vini and Mbappe lack. Then you need a midfielder with great passing range. And then you need a backline who are good under pressure. Right now, with the personnel we have we'll be playing more like a bottom half league table counter attacking team rather than something we played under Mourinho or Zidane.
You know your club is a circus when you have the chairman of the general entertainment authority in Saudi Arabia posting memes like this about your club. 🤷🏻♂️😎 pic.twitter.com/4TF5SCLS3U— TURKI ALALSHIKH (@Turki_alalshikh) May 17, 2026
Turki is all in with the memes though, his involvement in boxing has been quite something. Fascinating person, practically took over an entire sport.
JFD saying claiming the Jose Mourinho official announcement could come on the 25th or 26th of this month if there are no elections. If an election is held, the announcement could be delayed by a further 2 weeks. Meanwhile
In case you want to read about Riquelme's business: https://grupocox.com/en/investor-kit/corporate-governance/board-of-directors-commitees/
So Mourinho is pretty much a done deal then? I'm not optimistic about him because he hasn't been successful for a very long time. But... his style of football does suit players like Mbappe and Vini so there might be some light at the end of the tunnel after all. Regardless, it'll be interesting to follow this club next season.
We like to deal in extremes but i feel like he'll finish second on the league table at worst and find himself knocked out of the CL at some point. This team was basically with a complete novice on the wheel for about 2/3s of the season and was still kind of in it.
Which is really kind of a huge red flag because either someone from the club was leaking this information way back in January before the club was ready to make a move OR worse is the fact that Flo has become this predicatable and stuck in his ways so to say.
French IDK account Le Journal Du Real claiming that Perez has put a 15-day deadline for Junior to accept RM's offer (€20m net)
I am not sure if Mourinho wil be successful but I don't think it can get worse. I just think there needs to be a coach who will hold the players accountable. More importantly, a coach who Floro will allow to more or less steer the ship. Handling Floro is almost as important as handling players. Having Floro in the background backing the players and being a backseat driver is a good chunk of the problem. After the blow up with Xabi, I think the writing was on the wall that Floro would have a preference for one of his previous favorites to be the next coach. Floro is old and more set in his ways than ever.
None of this means anything unless if Vinny is willing to leave before his contract runs out. Which isn’t going to happen. Why would he let us take any fee when he can have it? Just like Mbappe…..
🚨 BREAKING: Florentino Pérez & UEFA are in VERY advanced negotiations to make European football available for FREE.A single platform will be responsible for streaming ALL UCL, Europa League and Conference League matches. @voz_populi pic.twitter.com/z0j1XWAOO9— Madrid Xtra (@MadridXtra) May 18, 2026
I still think there is stronger chance of him renewing than leaving. I just don’t see a landing spot for him anywhere on the wages he wants. Longshot Man U come in and make him the big offer, but I don’t see it.
Modric influence in the locker is too big it's a threat for Alonso. He was willing to take another pay cut just to stay with the team. I supposed denying him 1-yr extension worked out so well for Modric. Who wants to be a part of this $hit show.
Modric looked pretty meh his last season here. I think him looking good at Milan is more of a reflection of how far Italian football has fallen compared to 10 years ago. Watching Italian football, the pace is much slower and plays to Modric’s strengths. Plus he’s not being asked to put much work in defensively, which was his liability in his last season here. Still shows his class and his ability and given the set up around him can still look good for a few more years. Dude is gonna play until he’s 45.
It's a bit of a chicken and the egg problem though. Is Vini insisting on standing on the touchline waiting for the ball to his feet and Mbappe dropping into the midfield to collect the ball because that's what they want to do, or is it only because we don't have that "midfielder with great passing range" who they can rely on to receive the ball with different runs? Bottomline is that a midfielder like that is what we need more than any other position.
Kroos profile is mostly missed from 2023-24 set up. Rodrygo and Vini were starting forwards with Jude being the main scorer for 6 months. There's revisionism on Joselu post Bayern tie. He was a back up who started against weaker teams in La Liga and was getting abused in a lot of match threads for constantly missing sitters. Gonzalo or someone like Muriqi can do back up #9 job in La Liga under Mou.
Did he? I dont think so. I think he was surrounded by garbage quality to be honest. I don't think he was a liability either.
Don't think we'd have won any title with Modric taking a bunch of minutes away from Arda. Maybe his leadership would have helped Xabi to avoid the disconnection with certain players in the dressing room.