Can Real Madrid End Captain Curse After Dani Carvajal’s Exit?

Los Blancos need to appoint a new leader for the sixth season in a row.

Dani Carvajal leaves after 450 appearances and 27 trophies. | Diego Souto/Getty Images

With Dani Carvajal’s impending exit, Real Madrid face a period of transition.

The veteran right back may have played a limited role this season, but he is the club captain and—by far—the most experienced player in the locker room. With his exit, Real Madrid closes a chapter, with no player who featured in the club’s Champions League three-peat between 2016–2018 left on the books.

If there is one thing Madrid have lacked in recent times, it is leaders. Sergio Ramos is long gone, so too are Toni Kroos, Luka Modrić and Nacho Fernández. Fewer voices in the locker room carry serious weight.

Along with expected incoming manager José Mourinho, Real Madrid will—once again—need to appoint a new club captain for the upcoming campaign.

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How Do Real Madrid Appoint Captains?

Madrid’s captaincy comes with a curse. | Michael Regan - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images

It will be the sixth season in a row where Madrid have been forced to appoint a new leader.

Ramos’s departure in 2021 saw the armband pass to Marcelo. A year later when the Brazilian left, it went to Karim Benzema. He only lasted a season before handing it over to Nacho. In the summer of 2024, Modrić took possession of the captaincy, and a year later it passed to Carvajal. The role has, in some ways. become Madrid’s cursed honor.

Madrid’s policy for much of the club’s history has been to grant the captaincy to its longest-serving player within the first team—a system which by definition leaves them open to regular turnover.

With few real veterans left in the squad, there has been talk that the club may soon depart from the usual selection policy.

The appointment of the club’s next captain comes at a critical juncture for Real Madrid.

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Who Will Be Real Madrid’s Next Captain?

Federico Valverde is in line for the Madrid captaincy. | Dennis Agyeman/Europa Press/Getty Images

As it stands, Federico Valverde will inherit the armband, as the club’s current vice-captain. The 27-year-old has been in the Madrid first-team since 2018 and made over 350 appearances for the club. In Carvajal’s absence through injury or selection, he has led Los Blancos regularly this season.

The Uruguayan has gained Carvajal’s personal endorsement too. Responding to Valverde’s farewell message on Instagram, the outgoing captain wrote: “You’ve brought tears to my eyes, mate!! Thank you for all these years!! You’re phenomenal, as I’ve told you many times. The armband is in good hands!!”

However, Valverde is not a straightforward choice. The volatile midfielder has been at the center of controversy in recent weeks, and hasn’t played for the club since suffering a head injury after an altercation with Aurélien Tchouaméni at the start of May.

In the early months of the season, he also made headlines for complaining about his position under then-manager Xabi Alonso, telling reporters he “wasn’t born to play right back.”

There have even been reports that, amid Madrid’s locker room fractures, there are senior players who want Valverde sold for his part in the embarrassing training ground fight.

AS report that some in the Madrid squad now want the club to move to a hybrid model for selecting its captains, while allowing the players to vote on their leadership.

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Leaders Wanted

José Mourinho may have some say in Madrid’s next captain. | Valter Gouveia/Sports Press Photo/Getty Images

After Valverde, Vinicius Jr and Thibaut Courtois are Real Madrid’s most senior players in the squad and form part of the leadership group, but there are few in the team who have been left untainted by this season’s disharmony.

Vinicius Jr—who wore the armband in the recent Clásico defeat—remains a polarizing figure at the Bernabéu and has been regularly jeered by the home support throughout the season. He has, however, shown the ability to speak up for the club at important moments and his numbers remain consistent despite a torrid campaign.

Elsewhere, Real Madrid’s decision to pivot towards a policy of signing younger players in recent transfer windows has left the locker room somewhat lacking in experienced heads. A new blockbuster signing with leadership credentials—like the much-discussed Rodri—could immediately enter the fray as a possible option. However, Kylian Mbappé, the team’s ‘franchise player,’ would be a deeply controversial pick for captain after a season mired in controversy.

Meanwhile, Antonio Rüdiger, who is reportedly set to sign a one-year extension to his expiring contract, is the standout candidate from the existing roster to be promoted to a leadership group, if the club were to forgo the seniority system.

The other factor in the mix is the imminent arrival of Mourinho. The 63-year-old is not someone who likes to leave team matters up to others. Throughout his career, he has regularly relied on his captains to act as on-field generals. How much sway the new manager will have over who the new captain be remains to be seen.

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