Remember when Inter kept trying to sign him for free in 2018 after we sold Ronaldo? They thought there's some veteran clearout going at RM and Flo was so pissed at them not giving up the lame free transfer attenpt. They offered Modric 4 year deal plus another 3 year at their Chinese club. RM strongly refused and few months later he won BDR. And now plays a key role in our CL win after 2 more La Liga titles. I don't think even diehard Modric admirers expected this kind of longevity from him especially given the workrate he has on both ends throughout his career.
Extended for another yr! I don't know what his plans are but if Carlo manages him correctly i.e resting him more and playing him with Cama and Fede as support, I can see him playing for another year or even 2 after 2023.
Maldini won CL at 38. Won't be surprised if Luka pushes longevity to those levels despite midfield being a more involved role.
Astonishing. A country of 4 million people have had a UCL winner in each of the past 10 champions league editions. Congrats to all Croatian Real Madrid fans on here. I bet you're beaming with pride.
There’s a viral tweet comparing Modric winning the Champions League to Iniesta being in the relegation zone in Japan right now. Trying to be objective as possible, was peak Modric better than peak Iniesta (or Xavi)? I haven’t watched as much of the Barca duo as Modric, so I can’t give a fully informed opinion; but it’s my impression that Modric was actually better. The reasoning being that, while Iniesta and Xavi were slightly better dribbling and passing, Modric was significantly better in defending, playing off the ball, and workrate. Iniesta and Xavi would cover that weakness by hardly giving up possession, often relying on cheap calls from the ref when they were dispossessed. Nevertheless, it’s impossible to have 100% possession, so there was still plenty of times for their relative weaknesses to be exploited. Agreed?
Xavi was a nobody pre-Messi, a complete nobody. It also feels Iniesta did not have THAT many years as a top footballer. Modric just kept getting better over the years. I wouldn't be surprised if he has yet another great season next year. His game is much more than assisting or scoring, he just bosses all aspects as a midfielder. He is his own Messi.
I know a lot of people are going to get their panties in a twist; but I would rate Iniesta better than Modric.
Modric is better than both offensively and it's not even a conversation defensively. Xavi and Iniesta benefitted from well oiled system which also works perfectly in PL for Pep with inferior level of players than Xavi and Iniesta (Fernandino, Rodri, Gundogan etc). Modric played with different types of coaches and succeeded impeccably at the highest without any tiki taka system that played to the strengths of technical players.
He's not better than Iniesta offensively; Iniesta on his day was a step below Zidane. Who, himself, said: "Iniesta really impresses me. He's got so much influence in Spain's game. He reminds me of myself." Even Sergio Ramos said: “Iniesta is the boyfriend that every mother wants her daughter to have. The figures over his career tell you all you need to know. He is a magical player. There are few players in the world that can compare to him.” You underrate him simply because you're blinded for your hate for Barcelona or the fact that he did everything quietly, without bragging or talking too much - he did his talking on the pitch. Had he played for us, he'd be a club legend guaranteed. EDIT: This does not discredit Modric in any way. Why can't we say they're both elite world class players? Like Zidane, Kaka, Messi, Ronaldo, etc.
Again this lmao Modric could do everything Iniesta did on a pitch and found a way to stay relevant in World football even aging while the Guy is at the bottom of japanese League. Man is a Key midfielder in 5 UEFA Champions Leagues won. You can't choose your NT you Can choose your club Offensively: Dribbles passing genius vision shoots football IQ he got everything. Defensively: Modric eats Iniesta alive this is where he ends him. Modric with prime Spain would win everything too, Iniesta with Croatia wouldn't have done shit nor with a weaker Barcelona. With Iniesta in this Real Madrid 2021-2022 you don't get past round 16.
Round 16 pocketed Messi. Gave second Goal from World class assist recovery in the 3rd goal. 1/4 best assist in Champions League History. Semi final ended De Bruyne in the second leg created the chance in which Walker should have been sent of from his foul on Vinicius going straight to their net. Final launched thé goal. Guy has been a Key in a 5th Champions League at 36 y o.
Modric' body of work eclipses both Xavi and Iniesta put together on club level. Won the Balon d'Or over Ronaldo and Messi. Iniesta has nostalgia going for him but he started looking very old very quick.
Just from watching highlights (I need my memory refreshed, and I didn’t have the subscription needed to watch La Liga in his prime), it does look like Iniesta was a bit better dribbling past opponents 1v1 than Modric. On the other hand, there was once a game where Carvajal was injured and Vazquez had to play right back before he started doing so more regularly (I think it was the 2018 Champions League semi second leg vs Bayern, but I could be wrong). Since Vazquez was such a liability, Modric had to practically be a deputy right back, and he did so shockingly well. That is something that Iniesta could surely never do, and it was at that point that I started to suspect that Modric was indeed better than either of the two Barca legends.
Modric's ability to make Madrid seem like we're playing with 12 men is exceptional. For as good as Iniesta was, I never got that feeling from prime Barca. Though they always had a 12th man wearing yellow and black.
Modric was put in the middle of the chaos (the best word to describe our midfield before him) and tasked with the impossible that was finding rhythm and balance. Meanwhile Xavi and Iniesta's style has been repeated, if not surpassed, by Bayern and City, with inferior players, they needed the right environment, system and coach(es) to truly shine, first with Spain in 2008 and then at Barca. Their versatility, and years at the top, was way shorter than Luka.
Yeah, I'm not quite sure but as I said, Iniesta became very old very fast whereas Modric seems to be a complete athletic miracle.
Before announcing Tchouaméni, Real Madrid will confirm the new contract until June 2023 for Luka Modrić: it’s scheduled for tomorrow at Bernabéu, Florentino Perez will be there too. ⚪️🤝 #RealMadridNew deal was signed after UCL Final. Negotiations were ‘more than fast’.#Modric pic.twitter.com/VakW6b3sbR— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 7, 2022
2008 Spain midfield worked so well because of Marcos Senna, there I said it. 2010 was a huge difference, yes their forwards were injured, but Spain wen through the false 9 phase where they basically had 10 midfielders on the field. Which obviously worked because they won’t many trophies and games, but that 2008 team at the Euros was fantastic…. And it wasn’t because of Xavi and Iniesta