ONE MORE YEAR! Luka Modrić extends his Real Madrid contract for another season

• Luka Modrić (38 years old) has met with the club board and reportedly agreed to stay one more year in Madrid.
• The Croatian was initially planning to leave, not being satisfied with the reduced number of minutes he received lately.

According to Mundo Deportivo, there was a meeting on Friday in Valdebebas between Balon d’Or winner Luka Modrić and the Real Madrid board, led by Club President Florentino Pérez (77 years old). After 3 hours of intense negotiations, both sides reportedly agreed on a 1-year extension of the Croatian’s contract. The new deal that would expire in June 2025 came with a big compromise for the Madrid legend, a substantial reduction of his salary, around half of the current one. Modrić is earning around €10M as of now. The deal has not been officially announced yet, but Spanish outlets indicate this should happen very soon.

The legend wanted out!

Luka Modrić is undisputedly one of the best players in Real Madrid history, but also one of the best midfielders to play football. The Croatian icon has played over 530 matches, contributing to 125 goals for the Los Blancos in his 12 years at the club. During these seasons, he managed to put together a most impressive trophy list, winning 4 LaLiga titles, 2 Copa del Rey, 5 Supercopa de España, 5 Champions League trophies, 4 UEFA Super Cups, 5 Club World Cups, and the most wanted individual award, 1 Balon d’Or in 2018. 

His time at Real Madrid was always cherished at the maximum by the fans and the club board, but reports indicate that Modrić did not want to extend his contract further. What could be the reason for such a drastic decision? Popular sources explain that the Croatian midfielder felt threatened by the transfers in midfield made by Carlo Ancelotti (64 years) over the last few years. New arrivals such as Eduardo Camavinga (21 years old), Aurélien Tchouaméni (24 years old), Arda Güler (19 years old), and Jude Bellingham (20 years old) seem to be part of the club’s rebuild of the legendary midfield trio consisting of Modrić, Toni Kroos (34 years old) and Casemiro (32 years old) that dominated both LaLiga and the Champions League for many years.

In addition, Modrić has also been playing fewer minutes than in the last seasons, both because of his age and because the new, younger players need time to develop. This allegedly upset the Croatian to the point of not continuing to play at the Santiago Bernabéu. This season, he averaged 49 minutes per game in all competitions.

• POLL: “Is Luka Modrić the best midfielder to ever play for Real Madrid?” Yes/No

Leaving as a record-breaker

Now that Luka Modrić is almost certainly going to play one more season for the Madridistas, he could retire close to the age of 40 as a certified wrecker of records. Real Madrid’s last game of the current season will be the Champions League final, facing Borussia Dortmund at Wembley Stadium, in London. If Los Blancos win it, that would mean that Modrić, Kroos, Nacho Fernández (34 years old), and Dani Carvajal (32 years old) will equal Paco Gento’s record of being the only players to win the Champions League 6 times. Hypothetically speaking, another title next year would make these players (excluding Nacho, who retires this year) the new world-record holders of lifting the UCL trophy 7 times.

If Modrić chooses to retire at the end of his contract, he would also become the oldest player to do so at Real Madrid, once again breaking the record of the late legend Paco Gento, who retired at 38, the current age of the Croatian.