"Sometimes I have to kick you" – Luka Modric sends birthday message to 22-year-old Real Madrid teammate

Real Madrid star Luka Modric came up with a humorous birthday wish for Eduardo Camavinga, who turned 22 earlier this Sunday, on social media.

On November 10, the Croatia international took to Instagram to send a message to Camavinga. He posted an image of him battling for the ball against the Frenchman in training and wrote (h/t X/@MadridUniversal):

"Happy birthday my friend! 🎂 Sometimes I have to kick you 😂💪"

Modric, who turned 39 earlier in September, has played alongside Camavinga 104 times for Real Madrid. He has even assisted the left-footed midfielder once, during a 4-1 win over Real Sociedad in March 2022.

Camavinga, on the other hand, completed his first full 90 minutes of the season on Saturday (November 9). He made just his fourth La Liga start of the season as the ex-Stade Rennais star helped his team register an emphatic 4-0 home win against fifth-placed Osasuna.

So far this season, Camavinga has started five of his seven total appearances for Los Blancos. He has laid out an assist for them along the way.

Fabrizio Romano sheds light on Real Madrid's current stance over signing top transfer target

Speaking on his YouTube channel, transfer reporter Fabrizio Romano claimed that Real Madrid are unlikely to push for a move to sign Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold. He said (h/t GiveMeSport):

"I am told that for January... Real Madrid internally feel that it is going to be almost mission impossible to sign Trent in the January transfer window. Trent is a name for the summer transfer window. That's the idea for Real Madrid and he's always been considered a top, top, top target for the summer."

Commenting on the Merseyside outfit's stance, the Italian concluded:

"The only way to make it happen in January is if Liverpool tell them: 'Okay, let's negotiate'. But Liverpool, at the moment, are absolutely not opening the doors to that. Liverpool are very happy with Trent as part of the squad. Liverpool are still discussing with Trent over a new deal and Liverpool are still pushing to keep Trent at the club to extend his contract... to find a way."

Alexander-Arnold, who picked up an injury in his side's recent 2-0 league win over Aston Villa, is in the final eight months of his current contract.

So far, Alexander-Arnold has featured in 325 games across all competitions for his boyhood club. The 26-year-old has found the back of the net 19 times and laid out 83 assists for the Merseyside outfit so far.