'Because there's no cross?' Defending champion Madrid's sluggish performance as 'Tony Cross desperately needs to strengthen retirement vacuum' claims surge
Dec 06, 2024
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Spain's prestigious Real Madrid is considering the aftermath of Tony Cross' retirement. For this reason, it was argued that the reinforcement of the midfield was urgently needed.
According to Spanish media on the 6th (Korea time), Real Madrid has recently started a full-scale review to reinforce its midfield power.
Real Madrid, which won La Liga and the European Champions League last season, is making an unstable move in the 2024-2025 season. It is currently in second place in the league with 10 wins, 3 draws and 2 losses (33 points), but it is not satisfactory as it is four points behind the leader Barcelona (12 wins, 1 draw and 3 losses).
In particular, the sense of crisis was heightened by losing 1-2 against Atletico Bilbao on the 5th, recording its fifth winless game of the season. The number of injuries has continued, and the fact that newly recruited Kylian Mbappe has not fully adapted is considered to be a factor in the slump.
On top of that, it was pointed out that the gap between the world's best midfielder Tony Cross, who retired from Real Madrid, is too large. Real Madrid is in desperate need of a game maker like Cross due to the nature of coach Carlo Ancelotti, who is not obsessed with stereotyped tactics and is highly dependent on player's originality.
According to Spanish media 'Onda Sero', the Madrid club's top progress is also feeling the lack of midfielders to take the lead in the team. In order to overcome the gap in the cross, it is reported that they are eyeing to recruit midfield resources such as Martin Subimendi (Real Soiedad).
Cross, who has played for Real Madrid since the 2014-2015 season, has retired after the 2023-2024 season after contributing to three consecutive UCL losses and five league wins.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
