7 players who are the cause of Real Madrid's struggles and Lopetegui's impending sacking

#3 Luka Modric

Modric is the reigning Best FIFA player of the year

The 32-year-old is the current FIFA and UEFA Best player, and is the forerunner to be crowned the 2018 Ballon d’Or winner after his performances last season in helping Real Madrid wins the Champions League, and Croatia get to the World Cup final.

The former Tottenham man was named the Golden Ball winner as the best player in Russia, and rightly so, as arguably nobody else had a better World Cup campaign than him, but a lot of eyebrows were raised when he was handed the individual accolades, particularly the UEFA award for best player of 2018.

Many believed Modric had been the beneficiary of lowered standards, and the figurehead of the conspiracy to end the decade long strangle-hold of Ronaldo and Messi in the sphere of individual awards.

Since his world best win, Luka has not done too much to dispel those accusations, as he has been a shadow of his former self, the epitome of Real Madrid’s struggles in midfield.

He was slow to be reintegrated back into the team, as he was given a deserved extended break after his exertions with Croatia in the summer, but even after getting back into the team, he has failed to stamp his authority on matches in the way Madrid fans are accustomed to, and this has been a key reason for Real’s struggles.

Luka Modric is the best player in the world, the long awaited player who displaced Ronaldo and Messi from their thrones, and this should serve as extra motivation to propel him into leading Real into the future, unfortunately he has failed to do so, and Real Madrid is worse off for it.