Real Madrid has officially announced the team captain and vice-captain for the upcoming season. Following Karim Benzema’s departure, the club’s management had to make changes, and the new captain now is Nacho. The 33-year-old Spanish defender has spent his entire career in the colors of Real Madrid. Nacho came through the club’s academy before making his first-team debut in 2011. Now, Nacho will assume the role that he has witnessed his former teammates Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo, and Benzema undertake.
The decision to stay at the Bernabeu and wear the captain’s armband opens up the possibility for Nacho to retire as a player of Real Madrid, becoming the club’s first “one-club player” since Manolo Sanchis, who retired in 2001.
Following Nacho in the captaincy hierarchy is Luka Modric. The Croatian player has shown his commitment to the club by disregarding lucrative offers from Saudi Arabia, and he can expect to feature in many matches as the captain.
The third captain is another “homegrown” player on the list, Dani Carvajal. Due to his loan spell at Bayer Leverkusen, the Spanish defender does not qualify as a “one-club player.”
The fourth captain of Real Madrid for the 2023/24 season is Toni Kroos. The German star is regarded as one of the natural-born leaders, and his voice carries great authority among his teammates.
Returning to the captain’s armband of Real Madrid, there is a relatively strange phenomenon, as this is the third consecutive season that the number one captain of the team departs from the club. In 2021, Sergio Ramos joined PSG, and last summer, Marcelo moved to Olympiakos. Recently, Benzema has transferred to Saudi Arabia, and the captain’s armband once again goes to a new player, this time a lifelong Madridista – Nacho Fernandez.
