Luka Modric could leave Real Madrid in the summer. Dinamo Zagreb are also courting the 38-year-old – in a curious way
If you leafed through the pages of Marca on Saturday, you couldn’t miss the ad. Croatia’s top club Dinamo Zagreb had booked a whole page in Spain’s biggest sports newspaper to advertise Luka Modric’s return to his homeland. The back of the dark blue Dinamo jersey was shown, bearing the number 10 and Modric’s name, with the hashtag “It makes all the sense in the world” underneath in Croatian and Spanish.
The desired media response was thus guaranteed for the Dinamo managers around President Mirko Berisic. However, it remains unclear how Modric himself perceived this curious and offensive avance. One thing is clear: the 38-year-old Real Madrid midfielder has long been linked with a departure this summer. While Toni Kroos is pulling the strings as ever, Modric has become a victim of the generational change at the Whites.
He has made 13 of his 25 La Liga appearances this season as a substitute. Since the turn of the year, he has only featured three times in coach Carlo Ancelotti’s starting eleven, and not at all in the Champions League round of 16 against RB Leipzig: he even spent 90 minutes on the bench in the first leg in Saxony (1-0) and was only involved for around a quarter of an hour in the second leg (1-1).
After rejecting a wild offer from Saudi Arabian promoted side Al-Ahli last summer, which was reportedly worth €80 million per year, there are increasing signs that he will leave the club in 2024. An end to his career does not yet seem to be an option for the 2018 World Cup runner-up and 2022 World Cup bronze medallist. Instead, a future in the USA or Saudi Arabia is on the cards
It’s annoying for Dinamo that “Marca” reported something else
Or in Croatia? Modric joined Dinamo as a 16-year-old and later signed a ten-year contract before moving on to Tottenham Hotspur in 2008 with six titles under his belt. Four years later, Real made one of their best transfers since the turn of the millennium. This season, Modric could become a Champions League winner for the sixth time, just like some of his team-mates.
Also on Saturday, however, Marca reported something else: that a nostalgic return to Zagreb for Modric “seems less realistic at the moment” despite the spectacular display.
