Real Madrid are already the two-time defending UEFA Champions League winners, and are tabbed as one of two or three favorites to be crowned champions of Europe again this season.
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While the past (three Champions League triumphs in four seasons) is already littered with silverware, the future isn’t looking so bad either after the defending La Liga champions announced new long-term contracts for a pair of under-25 superstars in the making in the span of 24 hours this week.
24-year-old defender Raphael Varane, who featured prominently in all three UCL runs, signed on Wednesday a new five-year deal which will keep him at the club until 2022. A day later, 21-year-old attacker Marco Asensio, who’s loudly announced himself onto the world’s stage already this season, re-upped for six more years with a new deal tying him to Los Blancos until 2023.
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Asensio signed for Madrid from Mallorca in the summer of 2014, but spent the next two seasons on loan, back at his old club for a season and then at Espanyol. Last season saw him break into the first team and flash momentary bits of brilliance late on in the season. That momentum has carried over to this season, as the heir apparent to the trio of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema has four goals and one assist through the first 10 games (all competitions).
To the surprise of absolutely no one, Real Madrid will remain quite good for quite some time to come.