After the departure of Karim Benzema to Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia, Nacho Fernandez is the new captain of Real Madrid.
Surprising new captain Real Madrid after Benzema’s departure
The 33-year-old defender, who recently extended his contract by one year until mid-2024, is therefore preferred to Luka Modric, who is reserve captain. Dani Carvajal and Toni Kroos have been appointed third and fourth captains of De Koninklijke , respectively .
Last season, Nacho, who has played for Real Madrid all his life, was still in fourth place in the ranking of captains. Then Modric and Kroos were numbers two and three.
Benzema wore the captain’s armband for Real Madrid for one season. He succeeded Marcelo, who left for Olympiakos last summer and is now active at Fluminense in Brazil.
Notorious corruption case continues to haunt Modric: imprisonment threatens again
Luka Modric must again fear a prison sentence. The 37-year-old Croatian legend has been charged with making a false statement in his own country. Former international Dejan Lovren, now a player of Olympique Lyon, is also accused of this.
Modric and Lovren had to appear in court in Osijek in 2017 to testify in the corruption case against notorious Croatian agent Zdravko Mamic, who was eventually found guilty of illegally claiming huge chunks of transfer fees at Dinamo Zagreb, where Modric started his career and Mamic was technical director for many years.
Mamic was also involved in Modric’s 2008 transfer from Dinamo Zagreb and Tottenham Hotspur. Initially, the Real Madrid midfielder, like Lovren, was heard as a witness. When they came up with a different statement in court than during the investigation, they also became suspects. In 2017, the duo was already threatened with a prison sentence for perjury.
Modric and Lovren were eventually acquitted due to a lack of evidence, but the case continues to haunt them. According to Croatian media, the two are now facing another prison sentence of up to five years. Mamic was eventually sentenced to six and a half years in prison for embezzling transfer money. Dinamo Zagreb therefore lost about fifteen million euros.
