Davide Ancelotti, the Lille boss and son of former Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti, has put a name to the problem that has troubled the Real Madrid midfield since the summer of 2024. He did not set out to criticise the club he grew up around, but his words have landed close to the truth. For a support still adjusting to life without two of the greatest midfielders the club has had, hearing it said so plainly stings a little, even if Ancelotti meant no offence.
Toni Kroos retired after Euro 2024, and Luka Modric followed him out of the Bernabéu a year later when he joined Milan. Between them, they had controlled games for the best part of a decade. Since they left, Madrid have gone two seasons without lifting a major trophy, and the midfield has carried much of the blame. No replacement has settled into that specific role since, and the gap has only looked more obvious with each passing campaign.
The Core Revelation / Overlooked Data
Speaking to the Spanish newspaper AS, in comments relayed by Goal’s quote report, Ancelotti explained what Madrid have actually lost, before adding: “Real Madrid? I don’t want everything I say to be interpreted as criticism. When Modric or Kroos were playing, the ball always reached the player who starts the attack.”
That line captures something supporters already sense. Games used to flow through one of two players who always knew where the next pass should go. Take that passer away, and the team’s attacking moves start from nowhere in particular, leaning on individual quality rather than a settled rhythm in the middle of the park. It is a simple idea, yet it explains two trophyless seasons of disjointed build-up play better than most tactical breakdowns have managed.
Statistical Proof & Expert Dissection
Ancelotti went further in comments reported by Foot Mercato: “To play in a direct attacking style, you need a player who is good at passing. Direct attacking play does not only mean having eight players capable of running, it also means having a player capable of launching them.”
That is the clearest explanation yet of why the Real Madrid midfield has struggled to replace what Modric and Kroos offered. Running power alone does not solve the problem. Someone still has to pick the pass that sends the runners forward, and Madrid have missed a player who can do that job. It shows in how disjointed their build-up has looked across the last two trophyless seasons.
None of this is a mystery to Madrid’s supporters. They have watched central midfield pairings chase the game rather than dictate it, exactly the shift Ancelotti describes. A midfield built around runners rather than passers will always look busy without looking in control.
Future Implications & Debate Trigger
Ancelotti was not speaking as a pundit chasing a headline. He worked inside the Bernabéu dressing room as his father’s assistant, and he knows exactly what Modric and Kroos gave the team. Madrid have rarely found a replacement for that role since.
None of this points to an obvious fix, and Ancelotti did not offer one. What his comments do is confirm what two trophyless seasons have already suggested: Madrid are missing a key man in midfield, and finding another one will not be simple.
The remarks land at a difficult time for Madrid off the pitch too. The club has lodged a formal complaint, detailed in our UEFA complaint update, while concern grows over Kylian Mbappé’s fitness, as covered in our Mbappé injury update. Transfer talk has not slowed either. Alex Scott’s name keeps coming up, a subject explored in our Alex Scott interest piece, and Madrid’s defensive options remain under scrutiny, a topic followed in our Quansah tracker.
Supporters have waited two years for someone to put their frustration into words this plainly. Finding a way back to the control Modric and Kroos once gave the team will take more than one transfer window.
