The curtain finally fell on the midfielder’s career Luka Modric in Real Madrid After the white team lost on Wednesday 4-0 against Paris Saint-Germain in the semifinals of the Club World Cup, although its many achievements will bury that defeat in oblivion.
The Croatian played at his 39 years his last encounter with the elastic meringue, after leaving the bench, but leaves a series of indelible memories of his stage at the White Club.
Modric, who confirmed in May that he would leave the Madrid squad after the United States tournament, could be at AC Milan next season.
Although in September he will turn 40, he hopes to play with Croatia the World Cup of 2026, so he needs minutes, those who reduced his previous coach, the Italian Carlo Ancelotti, last campaign.
His palmraés speaks for himself: the veteran midfielder achieved 28 titles in 13 years in the Spanish capital, being the player with the most trophies in the history of the club.
“It is a legend of world football and Real Madrid. He will be remembered for many more good things than for the 25 minutes he has played today (Wednesday),” the Donostiarra continued.
Modric has been a key piece of Real Madrid’s success since arriving in 2012 from Tottenham, winning the Champions League and four leagues, among other titles.
In addition, the player got the Golden Ball in 2018, cutting the series of Argentine Lionel Messi and the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo, who had distributed the ten anterior awards.
Although Modric put on Captain’s bracelet at the beginning of last season, its impact on the game fell considerably. Ancelotti reduced his prominence by giving more power to the midfielder with the Uruguayan Fede Valverde and the French Aurélien Tchouaméni.
Even so, “his legacy will live forever,” said the president of Madrid, Florentino Pérez, after he announced his imminent departure.
Glory days
Modric is the most veteran scorer and has been until the end high -level player of Real Madrid, but his days of glory arrived before his final season in which the team ended without a relevant trophy.
The midfielder accumulated 597 games, scored 43 goals and provided 95 assists, one of them was for one of the most important goals in the history of Real Madrid: Sergio Ramos’ header against Atlético in the 2014 Champions League final, which served to finish his long wait for the tenth, his tenth European Cup.
Modric threw a corner from the right in the 93rd minute in Lisbon, when Atlético won by a goal, so that Ramos connected head and forced the extension, in which Madrid certified the 4-1 victory.
The midfielder also provided an assistance with the outside of his boot for the Brazilian Rodrygo Goes in the quarterfinal clash of the 2022 Champions League against Chelsea, taking the match to the extension. Finally, Madrid defeated the ‘blues’ and lifted the trophy once again.
“Modric is a gift for football,” said Ancelotti, who once rebuked the Croatian joking for failing a single pass, while the midfielder collected the award for the best player of the game after the victory of the Spanish Super Cup of 2022 against Barcelona.
In the middle of his first season at the club, Modric was voted as the worst signing of the season in the league. Now, he leaves the Spanish First Division as one of the best players he has played in it, tireless in his work rhythm and impeccable with the ball.
Modric’s departure leaves Dani Carvajal as the only player who was part of the squad in the 2014 Champions Final, while Madrid prepares for a new era under the orders of Alonso, who played as a Madrid player along with Croatian at the time.
“In August, we will start from scratch,” Alonso said before the new season, and without Modric those words become more real than ever.
