Real Madrid coach Julen Lopetegui has said Luka Modric and Mateo Kovacic are happy at the club, and the mood has not been affected by reports that both want to leave.
Recent reports have claimed that Modric is trying to push through a move to Inter Milan, while Kovacic has gone on strike to force a transfer.
But speaking in New York ahead of Tuesday’s International Champions Cup clash with Roma, Lopetegui said he believed both Croatia internationals were content.
“The level of excitement is as high as it can be, as it is with most of the players,” he said. “My understanding is that both are happy to be here.”
Modric is due to begin preseason preparation on Wednesday, but AS claimed he could be paid €60 million to spend the next two seasons at Milan before joining Chinese club Jiangsu Suning.
“The president [Florentino Perez] was clear and unequivocal,” Lopetegui said. “We’re in no doubt at all that Modric is going to continue playing for us just as he has been.”
Marca reported that Kovacic is “in rebellion” and will not return to training until his wish to leave the Bernabeu in search of more regular first-team football is granted.
Kovacic, who joined from Inter Milan for €30m in 2015, trained in Madrid on Monday.
“I’ve not seen that he’s gone on strike,” Lopetegui said. “He trained normally. Mateo is a member of the squad, and I am delighted with him.”
With midfielder Toni Kroos this week saying it would be “difficult” for Madrid to replace the 50 goals a season previously all but guaranteed by Cristiano Ronaldo, Lopetegui said he had no problem with not having yet signed a high-profile replacement.
“My conversations with the club are private, but we are fully on the same page,” he said. “One of recent history’s most important players has left.
“I see this is an opportunity to move forward as a collective, and fulfil the demands at this club.”
Inter Milan had reportedly offered Real Madrid’s Luka Modric a four-year contract that includes the chance to join Chinese Super League outfit Jiangsu Suning at the end of his potential stint in Italy.
According to sources, the owners of Jiangsu—also own 70 per cent of the shares at Inter, and they’re looking to utilise that connection to lure Modric to Milan.
The promise of a lucrative final payoff at the end of his time at Inter is said to be intended to rival any potential deal Real offer in their attempts to keep him at the club.
Modric, 32, has spent six years in Madrid since he left Tottenham Hotspur in 2012, and during that time he has established himself as one of the world’s best midfielders.
He cemented his place among them at the FIFA World Cup earlier this summer, where he won the Golden Ball after helping Croatia reach the final.
Inter have been open about their interest in Modric in the weeks since.
Millan hoped Modric wolud leave the Bernabeu with Inter Milan determined to bring him to Italy.
The Croatia international is seriously considering a move to Serie A having won the lot during his six-year spell in Spain.
And Italian newspaper Tuttosport say Modric will sit down for crunch talks with Real Madrid president Perez over his future.
The Croatia star took the World Cup by storm this summer, helping his country reach the final where they were beaten 4-2 by France.
Inter have already signed Radja Nainggolan and, having missed out on Arturo Vidal to Barcelona, would love Modric to be their midfield lynchpin.