At almost 40 years old, Luka Modric is planning for the time after his active professional career. The Croatian, who plays for Real Madrid, is investing in England’s second division club Swansea City.
Swansea City officially confirmed on Monday evening what the South Wales Evening Post and The Sun, among others, reported on Monday: Modric is acquiring a minority share in the Welsh club, which is currently playing in the Championship, England’s second division.
The club did not clearly state the size of the stake. The website states: “Luka will play a key role in helping the club to attract worldwide attention and to make progress both on and off the pitch.” Modric himself also commented on his arrival: “Swansea have a strong identity, an incredible fan base and the ambition to play at the highest level. Having played at that level myself, I believe I can bring my experience to the club. My goal is to help the club grow,” said the Croatian.
However, the move should not affect Modric’s playing career. The 39-year-old only extended his contract with Real Madrid by a further year last summer and is still under contract with the club until the end of June. Modric is therefore not thinking about retirement, but rather hopes to extend his contract with the club again.
There has been movement in the Swansea leadership in recent months. Majority owners Jason Levien and Steve Kaplan sold their club shares, and there were also changes at the managing director and sports director posts. Modric is expected to take on a behind-the-scenes role at the current twelfth-place team in the Championship.
Modric’s decision to invest in the “Swans” reflects a growing trend among top soccer players. Among others, his Real Madrid teammates Kylian Mbappé and Vinicius Jr. have also invested in soccer clubs. Mbappé is the majority shareholder of SM Caen in the French Ligue 2. He took over around 80 percent of the shares with his company for a reported 20 million euros last year; Vinicius Jr. joined the Portuguese second division club FC Alverca in February. He is said to have taken over almost 80 percent of the club’s shares and paid eight million euros for it together with a group of Brazilian and Spanish investors.
Former professional footballers have also invested in football clubs in the past, including David Beckham in Inter Miami, N’Golo Kanté in Royal Excelsior in Belgium, and the Spanish former internationals Gerard Piqué (FC Andorra) and David Villa (CF Benidorm/Spain and Queensboro FC/USA).
