Even though it is likely that Luka Modric will win the Ballon d'Or on Monday, Real Madrid know he is not eternal and are already lining up his replacement, which is not proving easy. Top of their list is Tottenham's Christian Eriksen, but the Premier League side's demands are crazy. While showing signs that at 33 his career has entered its twilight phase, on Monday Modric will collect the Ballon d'Or, bringing an end to the duopoly that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have held over the award since Kaka was the last winner other than those two.
Neymar, Antoine Griezmann or Kylian Mbappe will not be the players to break it, with the Croatian being rewarded for an amazing year that has already seen him named European Best Player by UEFA and FIFA's The Best men's player. Madrid meanwhile have had concerns about the team for some time, with their backbone made up of players over 30 - Modric, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo, Karim Benzema.
The situation is not easily resolved by handing the baton over to young players like Alvaro Odriozola or Dani Ceballos, and big-name replacements are needed. Under those parameters, Thibaut Courtois arrived in July and Neymar was pursued once more, but the ever-rising prices in the market made it difficult even for a club of Real Madrid's size and financial muscle. Madrid see Eriksen as the ideal candidate to take their midfield forward and their belief is perhaps strengthened by the fact that Spurs is where they got Modric for just 35 million euros. Daniel Levy won't budge though, and he is demanding 250 million euros to lure his Danish gem away from north London.
Eriksen's contract is set to expire in 2020 and without a renewal he will enter into the final year of his contract in June. Despite their admiration, Madrid are slightly concerned by his muscular problems, with Gareth Bale's repeated woes already causing them enough problems.

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