Midfielders
Carlos Casemiro – B-
Carlos Casemiro produced a near-perfect performance in the UEFA Champions League final and has come up big for Real Madrid when the team needed him most. But he also dropped the ball on many occasions throughout the season. His ball distribution has been worrying and his inability to sometimes hold back his aggressiveness has cost Los Blancos this year. Of course, this isn’t to say that he’s still one of the best around and if Real Madrid can bring in a natural backup for the Brazilian, we could possibly see a much improved Casemiro next season.
Luka Modric – A
There is no need to mention Luka Modric’s age because he is the true embodiment of “age is just a number”. The Croatian has been absolutely integral to this team during the season and has more than earned a contract extension. Modric does things that no one else does and has the ability to completely alter the flow of a game in the middle of the pitch. He has had a lot of magical moments this season and we are all excited to see more moments next season.
Toni Kroos – B+
Toni Kroos has come under a lot of criticism throughout the season. Many went as far as asking for him to be replaced in the starting lineup. It’s true that he hasn’t been up to the mark during some moments. It’s also true that at some points in the season, replacing him during the game was the best option but that shouldn’t take away from his ability. Other players offer other alternatives on the pitch, that’s normal. If you want to see Toni Kroos at his absolute best, then look no further than the most recent match. The German attempted 83 passes with an accuracy of 92.8%. This is against one of the best pressing teams in the world. Toni Kroos is going nowhere and absolutely shouldn’t.
Eduardo Camavinga – B
The young new signing has had a dream start to his Real Madrid career. He was never expecting to play much and for a while, that was the case. As the season wore on, Carlo Ancelotti realized that he can trust Camavinga during certain points and that’s when we really saw him flourish, particularly off the bench. Camavinga is still young and he has quite a lot to learn but the raw skills that he has now are sensational. With more experience and time, we will see him grow into one of the best midfielders of his generation.
Federico Valverde – B
One of the most loved players in Real Madrid over the course of the past couple of seasons. Federico Valverde struggled though and possibly had one of the most difficult seasons in his professional career. The Uruguayan faced numerous injury problems during the first half of the campaign and when he played, he wasn’t able to reach the levels that we have grown accustomed to seeing. With patience and training, he finally found his groove again and crawled his way up to becoming a starter under Ancelotti during some of the most demanding games of the season. What started as a season of frustration, ended in possibly one of Valverde’s strongest campaigns.
Lucas Vazquez – B+
Even though Lucas Vazquez played as a right back most of the time, he’s still classified as a midfielder so we can keep him here. Lucas has always been ready to fight whenever called upon and has been able to really keep the right-back position out of danger as Carvajal was recovering from injuries. He truly deserves credit for what he has been able to give the club this season and possibly in the coming seasons as well.
Isco – F
This is hard to give but we have to be realistic. Isco has not been able to be useful for Real Madrid this season, mainly because he hasn’t gotten the chances. The Spaniard was available to play for the majority of the season but as time went on, Ancelotti trusted him less and less. This is Isco’s final year at the club and hopefully, he is able to find a new home where he can kickstart his career once again because he has the ability to make a difference to any team he chooses to join.
Dani Ceballos – C-
Dani Ceballos missed a little over half the season after a horrific injury last summer, which really put a dent into his plans of making things work at Real Madrid after his return from loan at Arsenal. Once he finally recovered, it was during a period in the year where it was understandably difficult for the manager to give him minutes but once he got the minutes he needed, he showed his capabilities. Ancelotti always admitted that Ceballos deserves more time on the pitch and the Spaniard has not let him down. It remains to be seen whether he chooses to stay or leave this summer but it’s clear that the manager likes him and would probably count on him more next year.