Gareth Bale has agreed to sign a six-year contract extension with Real Madrid and the European champion is set to announce new deals for Cristiano Ronaldo, Pepe and Luka Modric, Spanish media reported Wednesday. Radio station Cadena Ser said Bale, who joined Real for a then world-record fee of 100 million euros ($112 million) in 2013, will sign a new contract until 2022 in the next two weeks. Central defender Pepe, whose existing deal was set to end next year, will extend his contract until 2018. Ronaldo, Real's all time top scorer, is poised to sign a four-year contract until 2020 while midfield playmaker Luka Modric is also about to be offered a new deal. Wales international Bale has won two Champions Leagues and a King's Cup in three full seasons with Real, scoring 65 goals in all competitions. France midfielder Paul Pogba replaced him as the world's most expensive player when he completed an 89 million-pound (105 million euros) move from Juventus to Manchester United this year. Real midfielder Toni Kroos has agreed a new contract until 2016, which the Germany international will sign at the club's Santiago Bernabeu stadium Thursday. Real is banned from registering new arrivals for the next two transfer windows due to a ban imposed by FIFA for breaking rules regarding the signing of under-age foreign players. Kroos defends under-fire Zidane Real Madrid's World Cup-winning German midfielder Toni Kroos Thursday defended coach Zinedine Zidane as "very important" for the La Liga giants despite a series of draws. "I don't read the newspapers or opinion pieces but it's obvious that Zidane is very important for Real Madrid," the 26-year-old told a press conference after the extension of his contract until 2022. "I think the coach is fully involved. His qualities are not in doubt and he acts correctly faced with this situation." After a dream start as Real Madrid coach, winning the Champions League last May, former France World Cup winner Zidane has has come under fire in recent weeks, with four draws in as many matches. "Having a string of draws is not a good thing," said Kroos. "Maybe during the second half against Eibar (1-1) we didn't play well and the criticisms were justified. "But in Dortmund (2-2) or Las Palmas (2-2) we clearly played well, even better perhaps than certain matches which we won." Real Madrid is currently second in La Liga equal on 15 points with leader Atletico Madrid, and travel to Real Betis Saturday. "This match is very important for us to say — ‘we're still there'," said Kroos. "I don't think we're on the wrong path. The atmosphere is good in the team. It's not easy to always win and we should perhaps give more of ourselves to achieve this. "We've had three or four important players injured but that mustn't be an excuse."
