Carlo Ancelotti believes trio Karim Benzema, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos will stay at Spanish giants Real Madrid next season.
The three players’ contracts are up at the end of this season, and Ancelotti said that Modric and Kroos are now talking to the club about their futures.
In 2009, Benzema moved to Real Madrid from Lyon, and in 2012, Modric moved there from Tottenham. Together, they have won five Champions Leagues and other trophies with Real Madrid.
Toni Kroos moved to Real Madrid from Bayern Munich in 2014. With Los Blancos, he won the Champions League four times.
Ancelotti said that he thought a “solution” would be found for Kroos and Modric when asked about them.
“There are advances, because they are talking,” said Ancelotti.
“I think that in the end they will look for a solution, there are advances.”
The coach also thought that Benzema, who scored a hat-trick in Wednesday’s 4-0 Copa del Rey semi-final win over Barcelona, would stay.
But the Italian warned that Madrid would have to move on at some point.
“I think (the three) will stay,” said Ancelotti. “But we have to think about the day they stop too, because, for the fact they have something unique, something will have to change.
“We have to look for the club’s future along a different line, not the way (we play) with Kroos and Modric.
“We have fantastic young players, (Eduardo) Camavinga, (Aurelien) Tchouameni, (Fede) Valverde and (Dani) Ceballos, who will mark an era at Madrid, but in a different way to Kroos, Modric and Casemiro.”
Ancelotti still thinks that Benzema, Modric, and Kroos have a lot to offer Madrid, even though they are all past their physical best.
“We have to evaluate the players not by their age but by what they do,” added the coach.
“You can think the three don’t have the physical profile or energy of the younger players, but what these three have in terms of game management is unique, you can’t buy it on any market in the world.
“This is born with experience — age takes something from you, but it gives you something back as well.”
On Saturday, Madrid plays Villarreal in La Liga. On Wednesday, Madrid hosts Chelsea in the first leg of the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
