FIFA World Cup golden ball winner Luka Modric has informed Real Madrid president Florentino Perez about his ambitions to leave the club, with rumors linking him with Italian giants Inter Milan according to Spanish radio station Onda Cero.
Inter Milan have made their intentions of bringing the Croatian midfielder to the Italian capital and appeared to pull out of the race to land former Bayern Munich midfielder Arturo Vidal who subsequently joined Barcelona. Perez however has stated that he doesn’t intent to let loose of the midfielder saying that he will not be leaving for less than the €750m as per his release clause.#
Reports claim that Inter offered Modric a lucrative four contract with a salary of €10m-a-year. According to Onda Cero, Modric has a ‘gentleman’s agreement’ with Florentino Perez that he can leave Madrid when he wishes, while Inter are said to have tabled a €15m loan bid before a further €25m in a permanent deal.
The departure will heavily rock Real Madrid after losing their star forward Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus earlier on in the transfer window and recently saw Matteo Kovacic join Chelsea on a season long loan. They also lost their coach Zinedine Zidane who brought a hat-trick of Champions League titles and a La Liga title in his helm at the club.
Inter Milan have galvanised thier side ahead of their return to the Champions League after a six season absence with the signings of Radja Nainggolan, Sime Vrsaljko (loan), Kwadwo Asamoah and Lautaro Martinez.
Modrić plays mainly as a central midfielder but can also play as an attacking midfielder or as a defensive midfielder, usually deployed as a deep-lying playmaker. Modrić is widely regarded as one of the best midfielders of his generation, and among the greatest Croatian footballers of all-time. Able to blend traditional and trequartista playmaking effectively, he is known for his vision, precision in execution, and tactical strategy.
Born in Zadar, Modrić’s childhood coincided with the 1990s Croatian War of Independence which displaced his family. At age 16 he was signed by Dinamo Zagreb in 2002 after showing promise with his hometown club’s youth team. He continued his development in Zagreb before spells on loan to Zrinjski Mostar and Inter Zaprešić. He made his debut for Dinamo in 2005 and won three consecutive league titles and domestic cups with them, being named the Prva HNL Player of the Year in 2007. In 2008, he moved to Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur for a record high transfer fee of £16.5 million, where he led Spurs to their first UEFA Champions League appearance in almost 50 years, reaching the quarter-finals of the 2010–11 tournament.
After the 2011–12 season, Modrić joined Real Madrid for a £30 million transfer fee, where he became a key contributor under head coach Carlo Ancelotti and helped the team to win La Décima, being elected to the squad of the season. After Zinedine Zidane took over Madrid, Modrić was critical to three consecutive Champions League titles from 2016 to 2018, each time being elected to the squad of the season.
He would go on to win the La Liga Award for “Best Midfielder” in 2016 for the second time, and UEFA Club Football Award for “Best Midfielder” a year later. In 2015, he became the first Croat
ian player ever to be included in the FIFA World XI, in which he was included once again in 2016 and 2017, as well in the UEFA Team of the Year in 2016 and 2017.
Modrić made his international debut for Croatia against Argentina in March 2006, and scored his first international goal in a friendly match against Italy. Modrić has anchored Croatia’s “second Golden Generation” where he has since participated in every major tournament Croatia qualified for, including the 2008, 2012, and UEFA Euro 2016, as well the 2006, 2014, and 2018 FIFA World Cup. At the UEFA Euro 2008, he was elected to the Team of the Tournament, becoming only the second Croatian to ever achieve this honour. Following group stage eliminations in his first two World Cups, Modrić led Croatia to the 2018 World Cup Final, where they placed second, and he received the Golden Ball award for best player of the tournament. He has been named the Croatian Footballer of the Year six times, tied with Davor Šuker for most wins.