Real Madrid have what it takes to win the Champions League again
By Ben Sundock
Despite the departures of Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos, Keylor Navas, Marcelo, Gareth Bale, and Isco within the last several years, Real Madrid is still a favorite to hoist the Champions League trophy once again in 2023.
After winning the premier club competition for an unprecedented 14th time, Real is not satisfied. They are rebuilding and reloading for the next decade.
After a pretty turbulent first month of transfers, Los Blancos have seen a handful of players leave and have added defender Antonio Rudiger and midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni.
Adding a proven winner on defense in Rudiger, plus another of France’s “next generation” in Tchoumeni to deputize the likes of Toni Kroos and Luka Modric, Real Madrid is building out a more talented, far less robust squad.
The champions of Spain have cut a lot of the deadweight from the bench and reserves. Manager Carlo Ancelotti enters the second season of his second stint with the club after winning three titles in 2021/2022 with a full complement of veterans and promising youngsters.
Real Madrid is far from satisfied with its trophy haul
Soon-to-be Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema is in the prime of his lengthy goalscoring career, goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois put in a historic performance in the Champions League Final, and the defensive duo of Eder Militao and David Alaba looked like vintage Ramos and Pepe for much of the campaign.
It took Real Madrid three miraculous comebacks in the knockout stages to reach the final, proving there is room for improvement. By moving on from Marcelo, Bale, Isco, and Luka Jovic, Real Madrid is consolidating its talent while again telling the world that they will not be relinquishing their stranglehold on the club football world.
Real Madrid wants to continue to set and raise the bar.
Ancelotti can and should give more opportunites to a few of the Castilla players like Sergio Arribas, Juanmi Latasa, and Miguel Gutiérrez with several first-team players leaving. That academy talent combined with the additions of Rudiger and Tchouaméni has the future looking brighter than the last decade!
Next. This Carlo Ancelotti quote shows how much he loves Real Madrid. dark
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Madridistas could be celebrating a 15th Champions League triumph in just 12 months!