Real Madrid's manager Carlo Ancelotti has come under fire for his use of veteran stars Luka Modric and Toni Kroos so far this season, and the discontent has spread to the club's boardroom according to reports in Spain.
Los Blancos have undergone an overhaul of their midfield since winning the Champions League in 2022. Casemiro was sold to Manchester United later that summer, while Aurelien Tchouameni was brought in from Monaco. Eduardo Camavinga and Federico Valverde have also been used more frequently.
Competition for places in the middle of the park has only become stiffer since the arrival of Jude Bellingham, who has scored ten goals and laid on three assists in his first 11 games for Real Madrid.
Club legend Modric has seen his game time significantly reduced over the last couple of years and has been vocal about his frustrations in recent months. He has refused to rule out a move away from the Santiago Bernabeu in the January transfer window, with Lionel Messi's Inter Miami heavily linked with a move for the Croatian.
Modric and Kroos did play together this weekend after the former came off the bench in the 67th minute of an eventual 1-1 draw at Sevilla.
However, Relevo report that this angered the Real Madrid board, who are adamant that the two do not have the physical capabilities necessary to play alongside one another anymore, with their limp defeat to rivals Atletico Madrid earlier in the season in which both started fresh in their memories.
Those upstairs at the club believe that Tchouameni, Camavinga and Valverde should be Ancelotti's first-choice midfield trio.
The Real Madrid board are also said to believe that Kroos is a superior player to Modric at this stage of their careers - the German notably grabbed the crucial assist for Dani Carvajal's equaliser on Sunday - and so at least understand why Ancelotti has used the former Tottenham midfielder so sparingly.
Real Madrid return to action on Tuesday with a trip to Portuguese side Braga on matchday three of the Champions League group stage, having taken six points from their opening two games in Europe against Union Berlin and Napoli.
Whether or not Kroos or Modric feature remains to be seen, though the latter may start if Camavinga is ushered into the left-back role that he's picked up on numerous occasions.
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This article was originally published on 90min as Why Real Madrid's board are allegedly unhappy with Carlo Ancelotti.