El Clasico points to Luka Modric and Toni Kroos losing prominence at Real Madrid | OneFootball

Luka Modric and Toni Kroos have been two of the greatest midfielders of their generation, and they have been a big reason as to why Real Madrid have been so successful over the last 10 years.

However, neither started Real Madrid’s 3-0 defeat to Barcelona on Saturday night, and Diario AS have speculated that both players will just be squad players for Carlo Ancelotti for the upcoming season.

At 37 and 33 respectively, neither Modric nor Kroos are spring chickens, and compared to the likes of Aurelien Tchouameni, Eduardo Camavinga and new signing Jude Bellingham, they are unlikely to have the fitness of their younger counterparts.

Even if they aren’t regular starters, Modric and Kroos will play a big part for Real Madrid for the 2023-24 campaign, in terms of leadership, mentoring and also in the big moments, such as big matches.

It feels like a changing of the guard at Real Madrid, but there is absolutely no doubt that Modric and Kroos will still be important for Ancelotti.