Real Madrid select two new captains after Luka Modric and Lucas Vazquez exits | OneFootball

The departures of Luka Modric and Lucas Vazquez, whose contracts expired last weekend, left two vacancies in the captaincy group at Real Madrid, and these have now officially been filled.

Modric had been Real Madrid club captain, so his exit means that position needed to be filled – and unsurprisingly, it has been done so by Dani Carvajal, who was his deputy during the 2024-25 campaign , which was an interrupted one for the defender after he tore his ACL back in October.

It is a proud moment for Carvajal, whose number two will be Federico Valverde. The Uruguayan midfielder was already in the captaincy group alongside Modric and Lucas, and he now makes the step up. And as per Diario AS, the two aforementioned players have now been joined up Thibaut Courtois and Vinicius Junior.

Image via Antonio Villalba/Real Madrid via Getty Images

Courtois, who joined Real Madrid from Chelsea in 2018, will be third captain, with Vinicius – who joined from Flamengo in the same summer – being fourth in the queue. The decision has been made by club officials in collaboration with head coach Xabi Alonso, who will be counting on all four players to be leaders in the dressing room ahead of his first full season in the dugout.

Vinicius decisions comes amid uncertainty about his future

The appointment of Vinicius, which was somewhat expected given that he has been a Real Madrid player for seven years, is an interesting one, given that he is currently facing an uncertain future at the Santiago Bernabeu. Contract talks between player and club have stalled, and Saudi Arabia are said to be considering a world-record move to tempt him away from Los Blancos.

Despite this, it would be a surprise to see Vinicius leave, so he is expected to take his place in the captaincy group for the 2025-26 season, which gets underway next month.