Luka Modric hints at January exit amid playing time struggles

There was always going to be a natural drop in Luka Modric’s playing time as he turned 38 in early September.

There is a generational shift occurring at Real Madrid as the older players make way for the younger ones. This has resulted in regular minutes for players like Jude Bellingham, Eduardo Camavinga, Fede Valverde, and Aurelien Tchouameni in the center of the field.

The opposite is true for veterans Luka Modric and Toni Kroos, who both receive far less field time than they used to. Thus, concerns have been raised regarding their future, which is to be expected.

It has been challenging for the former, although the latter is still contributing significantly. The Croatian’s playing time has been slowly decreasing since he started practically every game in 2020-21. While he was a key cog in Madrid’s Champions League championship season in the next term, his La Liga action was restricted to only 25 starts.

What did Modric say about current situation?

The previous campaign was a far more tense one than the one before. In the Spanish Primera Division, the renowned midfielder only made 19 appearances, but he was a sure starter in the UEFA Champions League.

Speaking out about his playing time woes in the Spanish capital, Luka Modric stated how unfamiliar his role felt.

“It’s certainly a new situation for me not to play as much as before and as much as I’d like. You know I always want to play, I don’t want to have breaks, I don’t want to have vacations, I just want to play! I love it.”

Modric said he feels healthy enough to play regularly in Real Madrid’s busy schedule.

“I don’t want to be out… I just want to play, if necessary, every three days, because I feel physically well. Everything that happens around me is a normal process, so I simply accept it like that. I have to mentally prepare for this situation. Accept and move on.”

What did Modric say about possible January exit?

Occasionally, the former Ballon d’Or winner has now been an inactive bench option. As a result, he has connections to a number of rumored January transfers.

“I wouldn’t want to get into that right now,” he was quoted as telling Dnevnik. “There’s still a long time to go until the winter and the end of the year, at my age it’s hard to predict anything in the long term. We have to go from game to game and we’ll see what the future will bring.”

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