Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb has made an interesting move in their efforts to re-sign Luka Modric. While many clubs tend to work behind the scenes with transfer business, the reigning SuperSport HNL champions went public with their plea regarding the midfielder.
Mirko Barisic, Zagreb’s president, purchased a page in Saturday’s edition of Marca calling for Modric to sign with the club.
The advertisement consisted of a large photo of a Zagreb jersey with Modric’s name and number 10. The picture of the shirt took up the entire page of the paper. Zagreb’s official X account also made a reference to the bulletin as well.
Croatian midfielder has collected over 20 trophies with Real
Modric started his senior career with the Croatian club way back in 2003. The highly-rated midfielder initially joined the team as a youth player at the age of 15. While with Zagreb, Modric collected five major trophies, includes three top flight championships. The trio of titles came in successive seasons between 2005 and 2008.
The dynamic midfielder then left his childhood team for Tottenham Hotspur following the 2007/08 campaign. Although he could not manage to collect a trophy with the north London side, Modric grew into a star at the Premier League club. After four stellar seasons in England, Real Madrid signed the midfielder in 2012. He immediately found significantly success in Spain.
With Modric a key figure in the middle of the pitch, Real picked up a series of major trophies. In fact, the Croatia international played a major part in the club’s five UEFA Champions League titles, three LaLiga triumphs, and two Copa del Rey victories. In all, Modric has won 24 trophies so far with the Spanish giants.
Modric’s current contract set to expire after 2023/24 season
Despite his age, the 38-year-old midfielder is still a fairly significant part of Carlo Ancelotti’s squad. He has made 34 total appearances throughout the 2023/24 season, including 25 top flight matches. Nevertheless, many of these appearances have come as a second-half substitute.
As a result of the diminished role, Modric may end up parting ways with Real this summer. The veteran nearly left the club last year after his contract expired in June of 2023. However, he went on to sign a one-year deal to stay with the Spanish side until the summer of 2024.
There has certainly been plenty of discussions regarding Modric’s future with Real. Many have suggested that the star will return to Zagreb this summer. This is something that the Croatian club clearly want. Nevertheless, there has also been rumors that Modric may, in fact, remain with the LaLiga team for one more year.
Fellow aging midfielder Toni Kroos is also set to be out of contract with the club as well. The duo created one of the top midfield tandems in all of Europe for the last decade. While Modric’s future remains up in the air, Kroos will reportedly re-sign with Los Blancos for one more season. It remains to be seen if the two stars will be broken up after 10 years on the pitch together.
Photo credit: IMAGO / Sebastian Frej
