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Photo by Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images
It has been a strange season for Real Madrid midfield icon Luka Modric as he has found himself warming the bench more often than not this season.
A permanent fixture in the starting XI for a decade, the 38-year-old Croatian international has seen his prominence slowly reduce this season, with Carlo Ancelotti banking on the next generation of midfielders at the club.
Modric has not played a single minute of football in Real Madrid’s last two matches, which has led to question marks about his role and future.
After all, the Croatian international’s contract expires at the end of the season and clubs from Saudi Arabia are ready to snap him up for free by offering a lucrative contract.
Modric wants to stay
However, according to a report from journalists Anton Meana and Javi Herraez, despite garnering strong interest from Saudi Arabia, Modric remains intent on staying at Real Madrid.
As such, the 38-year-old legend would be eager to sign a new contract with Los Merengues and prolong his stint at the Santiago Bernabeu for another season.
As iterated earlier, it has not been a normal season for Modric with the change in his role and the recent reduction in his minutes.
Despite that and there being no lack of suitors, the former Tottenham man is keen on continuing in the Spanish capital.
Two reasons behind Modric’s decision
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The report further goes on to state that Modric’s decision to reject Saudi Arabia in favour of a new contract at Real Madrid is driven by two major reasons.
For starters, despite being 38 years old, Modric believes that he still has enough left in him to continue playing at the highest level with Real Madrid. After all, the Croatian is still in good shape physically and is confident that he can perform at the elite level for two more seasons.
The second reason is the negative feedback that has flown through to him and in general the Real Madrid dressing room about Saudi Arabia from the players who made the jump to the Middle East in the summer.
It must be noted that former Real Madrid captain Karim Benzema has been disgruntled at Al-Ittihad while ex-Liverpool skipper Jordan Henderson opted to leave for Ajax this month. More footballers, like Aymeric Laporta, have been vocal about the matter as well.
As such, Modric would now prefer to remain at Real Madrid than move to Saudi and it is now up to the club to decide whether they offer a new deal or not.