Former Real Madrid Manager Explains ‘Irreplaceable’ Catalyst for Los Blancos’ Downfall
Former Real Madrid assistant manager Davide Ancelotti admitted that when Toni Kroos called it a career after the 2023–24 season, Los Blancos “lost something they will never recover.”
Now at the helm of Lille in Ligue 1, Ancelotti served as the main assistant to his father, Carlo Ancelotti, during the latter’s second chapter at the helm of Real Madrid between 2021–25, a period in which Los Blancos conquered two Champions League titles.
Recently, the younger Ancelotti spoke with AS and revealed that when Kroos retired in 2024, he left a massive hole in Real Madrid’s squad that has been impossible to fill.
“You can survive, but they lost something they will never recover,” Ancelotti said. “[You lose] the best player in the world at his position. You can’t be like ‘I need another Kroos’ because there isn’t one.”
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“He owned games,” Ancelotti added. “He owned the rhythm. The game was played as he wanted, if he wanted the possessions to be sideways or vertical, he decided, and he was fundamental because he dictated the rhythm of the game.
“And then he also covered ground. Toni was a player that ran 11 kilometers per match. And he defended, he had tactical understanding. I loved it whenever he played as a No. 6.”
Kroos hung up his boots in the summer of 2024 after conquering Europe and La Liga in his final season. The 2025 FIFA Intercontinental Cup is the only piece of silverware Los Blancos have added to their trophy case since.
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Davide Ancelotti Throws Subtle Jab at Real Madrid Recruitment
Although Ancelotti is right in his assessment that replacing Toni Kroos is easier said than done, Real Madrid haven’t really tried. Even after Luka Modrić left the club a year later, Los Blancos still haven’t significantly investing in a midfield rebuild, sticking with players that were already in house when Kroos was still at the club.
Kylian Mbappé was Real Madrid’s marquee signing in the summer of Kroos’s retirement. Los Blancos have revamped their backline over the last two years, but instead of signing a top-tier midfielder, Madrid completed the most expensive transfer in club history this summer to acquire exciting winger Yan Diomande.
“I don’t want everything I say about Madrid to be taken as a criticism,” Ancelotti said. “But when you have Modrić and Kroos, the ball will get there every time someone runs into space.
“I’m not saying the players they have now don’t have that ability. What I’m saying is that to play vertically, you need someone that knows how to place the ball. Playing vertically doesn’t mean you need to have eight sprinters, it also means you need someone that can release them. It’s an idea of how to play.”
“Inevitably, for Real Madrid’s dynamic style, losing Toni has been very complicated, because suddenly so many things get taken away,” Ancelotti added.
Real Madrid Keep Ignoring Midfield Needs
Aurélien Tchouaméni, Federico Valverde, Eduardo Camavinga and Bernardo Silva are seemingly Real Madrid’s top central midfield options during the 2026–27 season. The first three were already at the club during the Kroos–Modrić era and Silva, 32, joined this summer as a free agent and is already looking like nothing more than a rotational piece.
For much of the spring and summer, the expectation was that Real Madrid would address their midfield needs by signing one of the best players in the world at the position: Rodri.
But the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner ended up swerving Los Blancos to join bitter-rivals Barcelona—though Madrid manager Jose Mourinho has an alternative version of events. For Ancelotti, though, Rodri would’ve been a brilliant addition for Real Madrid.
“Yes, Rodri fits in every team in the world,” Ancelotti said, before later adding that “with or without Rodri, Real Madrid will be competing until the very end as always.”
The Lille manager also recognized that “Real Madrid’s recent history shows why Mourinho is the ideal manager for this moment.” When the Portuguese manager arrived for his first stint at the Bernabéu, he was tasked with ending Barcelona’s dominance over Spanish soccer—a similar situation to the one he encountered upon his return this summer.
Now though, Mourinho must do what Carlo Ancelotti, Xabi Alonso and Álvaro Arbeloa have been unable to do over the past two years: lead Los Blancos to their first major trophy in the post-Kroos era.
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