Real Madrid have boasted one of the world’s best midfields over the past several years, so it’s no surprise that a Manchester United icon sees himself in two of their most prolific stars.
Last season, Real Madrid superstar midfielders Toni Kroos and Luka Modric produced significant bounce-back seasons under Zinedine Zidane. They helped lead Real to a highly competitive La Liga season, including a Spanish Supercup Final victory and a tremendous 2-0 win over FC Barcelona in March at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Kroos and Modric have won Champions League title after Champions League title, with Modric even securing the Ballon d’Or in 2018 after winning the Champions League with Madrid and coming second in the World Cup with Croatia.
The two midfield maestros were at their best last season, creating chances, making composed passes in midfield, and working hard to recover the ball in the final third.
Former Manchester United superstar Paul Scholes knows a thing or two about world-class midfield play. He won plenty of trophies, scored plenty of great goals, and controlled several brilliant sides under Sir Alex Ferguson back in the day.
On a recent episode of BBC’s 606 Savage Social podcast, via Goal.com’s Emma Smith, Scholes stated that his playing style has similar elements to Kroos and Modric:
"“I’d like to think I played a little bit like Luka Modric. He’s different to me because he was quicker than me, he can beat a man, but I see certain traits in him, like controlling a game.It’s probably more towards Toni Kroos, as a passer and more of a controlling player. He doesn’t really get involved physically with people and scores the odd goal here and there. I think if I had to choose between the two I’d be more like Kroos than Modric.When I watch those two for Real Madrid in those great European Cup winning teams, they’re the two.”"
Kroos seems to be a great comparison for Scholes, given Kroos is such an accurate passer and general of the midfield. It seems like there isn’t a single pass he can’t make, no matter the distance or arc or curve required on the ball.
And don’t get me started on Kroos’ set pieces or long shots.
All three of them are different players, but they all have brought a high-quality class to the midfield in a variety of ways. It’s always great to see legends of other clubs showing respect to Real Madrid’s best.