Real Madrid has a new '10' after Modric's farewell and despite Kylian Mbappé

One of the debates that Real Madrid needed to solve ahead of next season fell directly to the executives led by Florentino Pérez. While Xabi Alonso makes and studies the tactical modifications required, the white club's top brass are putting things in order with the squad numbers.

It's no coincidence that several players have left, aside from the four signings made so far, which alter the organization of the footballers in the first team in this regard. One of the departures that has caused the most debate is Luka Modric, who's heading to AC Milan.

The departure of the Croatian midfielder means the release of the "10" since the 17/18 season: the Balkan midfielder succeeded James Rodríguez that campaign. Since he took on that number, he has only added more mystique and legend to a number already remembered by several generations of white club fans.

In any case, the exit of the Balkan attacking midfielder presents a dilemma that already seems to have a solution. In the Valdebebas offices, they haven't allowed the issue to become entrenched, assigning the number to Kylian Mbappé. Many thought that the footballer would request that number, the same one he wears for the French national team, upon his arrival in Santiago Bernabéu locker room.

End of the debate

Nothing could be further from the truth: not even with the confirmed departure of his now former Croatian teammate, Kylian Mbappé stepped up to take on the "10". Even though the board seemed to have made that decision when they determined Luka Modric's future in the first team... there was a certain buzz about the possibility that Arda Güler would inherit the midfielder's number.

It's no coincidence that it was Luka Modric himself who reportedly told the young Turkish midfielder that he would directly inherit his number when he left the merengue sports discipline. This couldn't happen due to the direct intervention of the executives led by Florentino Pérez. That decision isn't based solely on the team's hierarchy: Mbappé is one of the leaders of the current sports project.

They also believe that Kylian Mbappé's jersey, with the "10" on the back, will achieve sales figures never seen before. The forecasts managed by the merengue treasury have served as yet another argument to tip the decision... always despite the fact that Kylian Mbappé has agreed to keep the "9" that he wore in his first season as a merengue player.

The change of the Bondy striker's number creates even more confusion. Not because of the fate of the "10", already decided by the white club's leadership, but because of the future of other numbers like the "9" itself. Endrick and Gonzalo García, the theoretical substitutes for the French striker, will be the main competitors for a number that's also looking for its next legendary bearer.