Real Madrid identify next club captain as Nacho prepares to leave for Saudi

On Saturday, it was revealed that Nacho Fernandez has decided to leave Real Madrid when his contract expires at the end of this month. The 34-year-old has agreed terms with newly-promoted Saudi Pro League side Al-Qadsiah, whom he will join once his involvement at Euro 2024 comes to an end.

Nacho is currently club captain, and of course, he will relinquish that role once he departs. Real Madrid’s next skipper has been revealed by Miguel Angel Diaz, and it will be Luka Modric that wears the armband. He will be first captain, followed by right-back duo Dani Carvajal and Lucas Vazquez.

Federico Valverde would be next in line after that, followed by Thibaut Courtois and Vinicius Junior. The likelihood is that these will all move up one place again next summer, with Modric expected to retire in 2025.

It will be a great honour for Modric to be Real Madrid captain, something that is totally deserved after his 12 years of service so far. He’ll hope to skipper Los Blancos to many titles next season, which, like Nacho in 2023-24, is likely to be his only campaign with the armband.