Madrid wants Kroos extension, set January 15 deadline for Mbappe’s signing
There are few better sights in football than seeing Toni Kroos ping switches on a football field and caress the ball gently, with his mere touches creating new passing angles.
Even at the age of 33, Real Madrid are benefiting from his services as the old notion of class never truly fading comes true in the German’s case.
After a season of much speculation, Kroos decided to extend his contract with Los Blancos for one more year.
And now, with the campaign approaching the halfway point, speculation regarding Kroos’ future is once again prevalent.
Indeed, according to Jose Felix Diaz of MARCA, Kroos’ renewal at Real Madrid will depend on him alone. From the club, they are betting on one more season.
The iconic midfielder has already retired from international football but continues to practice his trade at club level.
Most recently, he produced a masterclass against Granada, notching an assist for Brahim Diaz as well. Amidst the abundance of injuries especially, he continues to be a valuable asset.
As such, the club recognises Kroos has more to give and aims to have him within their esteemed ranks for another season.
After the 2-0 triumph against Granada, coach Carlo Ancelotti shed light on the importance of Kroos, deeming him irreplaceable even when he is not participating on the field, which is a testament to his significance to Real Madrid.
“The best thing is his orientation and his control; he’s always in the right place when he receives. He is irreplaceable even when he doesn’t play,” he said.
It remains to be seen whether the German is keen on continuing another season, but if the report is to be believed, the club is more than willing to see his
Also, Real Madrid’s pursuit of Kylian Mbappé is still on hold, but the deadlines are closing in and one of the dates marked in red in Florentino Pérez’s calendar is fast approaching: January 1 2,024. With just days to go before the 2024 deadline, the Parisian forward has not yet renewed his contract with PSG, which officially expires on June 30 next year. Madrid has not moved their chess pieces and does not intend to do so until January 1, provided that Mbappé holds off until then from extending his contract with PSG and the powerful Qatari owners.
Once January 1 is reached, Madrid will launch their offensive for Kylian, knowing that from that moment on the law would support the Spanish club and leave PSG powerless to do anything to prevent negotiations. It is a situation that has occurred since January 1, 2022, but it is clear that on that occasion Mbappé was stalling Los Blancos, talking about a good game but refusing to sign “to avoid an angry reaction from PSG ultras”.
It must be remembered that in Madrid everything had been set up to seal the signing of Kylian, as the club was aware of the decision made by the player himself to put all his traffic lights on green to land in the Spanish capital that summer. But the draw for the Champions League Round of 16 was as fate would have it and put both teams against one another, something which forced a delay of a few months for the signature that ultimately never came.
Florentino will not allow history to repeat itself and to that end, the club are pulling the strings with a cool, calculated head. When Madrid calls Fayza Lamari, the player’s mother and the driving force behind all his contracts and financial agreements, on January 1, they will let her know that her son has 15 days to respond to Madrid’s offer. No more doubts or long exchanges will be admitted. Mbappé will have 15 days, more than enough time to tell Madrid: “Yes, I do”.
