July 22, 2020 – In his latest interview, Luka Modric spoke honestly about Real Madrid and where he plans to continue his career.
Luka Modric is resting in Croatia after winning the Spanish title with Real Madrid for the second time in his career. The captain of the Croatia national team interviewed for Sportske novosti, in which he commented on the situation at Real Madrid and the end of the season.
He expressed satisfaction with the title, and also commented on the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, the unfortunate injury of Eden Hazard, the status of Karim Benzema, and the young hopes off the bench such as Vinicius Junior and Fede Valverde. It was Valverde who was marked as the ‘new Modrić’, that is, he is often substituted on for the Croatian midfielder.
At one point, the Spanish media began to highlight Luka’s age and write that his time had already passed. Modric revealed that he also talked to Zidane about why Valverde is playing, and not him.
“Zidane told me that he was very pleased with my work, my approach, and that I should just continue like that. He had no doubts about my abilities; he just told me honestly that at that moment, he has a different vision of what is best for the team. I accepted that attitude and rolled up my sleeves. I was still full of motivation and desire to show myself, as I was the first day I came to Madrid. Later, everything fell into place,” revealed Modric, who, even at the age of 34, looks powerful and pleases the crowd with his extraordinary skill.
Age, strength, and knowledge are not in dispute at all. Luka Modric can continue at a very high pace for several more years. He has repeatedly mentioned that he would like to retire at Real.
“And who wouldn’t?! But it remains to be seen whether the club will want it. Real is my home, but Real decides what is best for the club. I know midfielders or strikers rarely stay here until they are 35 years old. I succeeded and it was not given to me, but I deserved it with my work and behavior. If Real estimates that I am no longer the one, I am ready for that unwanted option as well. Nothing would change my emotion towards the club. Although, I hope to break the stereotype that you can’t end your career at Real after a certain age – 34, 35. I tried very hard to get to Real, I went through everything and I will not give up that status lightly. I will fight on the pitch to deserve to stay,” said Modric and added:
“The only sure thing is that I will play for Real until June 2021, and after that? At my age, I don’t think much about it, haha… We’ll see. Let’s go step by step. I’m not at the beginning of my career, but I feel like I have a few more years of real football in my legs. I’m 100 percent sure I still want to play. I have the same motives for training, fighting, sacrificing to win and trophies. The most important thing is that my health serves me,” concluded the Croatia captain.
You can read the full interview here.
To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.
