The Real Champs
Fansided

Real Madrid: What should the starting XI look like in 2021/22?

By Hridyam Arora

HUESCA, SPAIN - FEBRUARY 06: Luka Modric of Real Madrid CF looks on during the La Liga Santander match between SD Huesca and Real Madrid at Estadio El Alcoraz on February 06, 2021 in Huesca, Spain. Sporting stadiums around Spain remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
HUESCA, SPAIN - FEBRUARY 06: Luka Modric of Real Madrid CF looks on during the La Liga Santander match between SD Huesca and Real Madrid at Estadio El Alcoraz on February 06, 2021 in Huesca, Spain. Sporting stadiums around Spain remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 4
Next

If someone told you before May that Real Madrid would let go of both Raphael Varane and Sergio Ramos in one window, and sign no one apart from David Alaba to replace them, well, you’d probably be a little mad. The exact train of thought would be something like “Well, the least they could do is sign a back-up.” That’s probably not happening either.

Real Madrid will go forward with the season with more or less the same squad (some fringe players might be sold or loaned out). With Real Madrid, there’s always a chance of doing one final push for Mbappe during the transfer window, but I don’t really see it happening this season.

One might call this transfer window a huge failure, and to be frank, I would not disagree. Real Madrid let go of two of the greatest centre-backs in club history, and they probably won’t sign anyone.

That being said, I’m kind of (cautiously) excited to see how the centre-back pairing of David Alaba and Eder Militao will pan out, especially with the way Militao played last season when both Ramos and Varane were injured. It will be interesting to see what Ancelotti does.

So, with all these departures, let’s look at how Real Madrid’s XI should look like in 2021-22.

Real Madrid, Thibaut Courtois
Real Madrid, Thibaut Courtois (Photo by JORGE GUERRERO/AFP via Getty Images) /

Thibaut Courtois – Goalkeeper

Well, this was a little obvious. Thibaut Courtois has been one of Real Madrid’s best players in the last two seasons and there’s simply no one at this club that can bench him. Andriy Lunin had a brilliant showing against Rangers. He made a ton of saves and kept Real Madrid in the game for a long time, but at the moment, he’s not good enough to compete with Courtois for the starting spot. The Belgian returned to training on Tuesday, and it will be great to see just how crucial he is going to be for the team this season.

Home/Analysis