Madrid, May 22 (EFE). – Real Madrid captain Luka Modric will leave the team after the Club World Cup, the Croatian player announced Thursday.
Saturday’s match against Real Sociedad will be his last at Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu stadium.
“Dear Real Madrid fans: The time has come. The time I never wanted to come, but that’s football and life, everything has a beginning and an end… On Saturday, I’ll play my last game at the Santiago Bernabéu,” he wrote on his social media s.
“I arrived in 2012 hoping to wear the shirt of the best team in the world and the ambition to do great things, but I couldn’t have imagined what came next. Playing for Real Madrid has changed my life as a footballer and as a person. I’m proud to have been part of one of the most successful eras of the greatest club in history,” he added.
Modric also thanked Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez and his teammates, coaches, and mostly fans.
“We’ve won everything, and I’ve been very happy. Very, very happy. But beyond the titles and victories, I carry the affection of all the Real Madrid fans in my heart,” said Modric.
“I will always be a Real Madrid fan. We will meet again. Real Madrid will always be my home. For life. Hala Madrid and nothing else,” the Croatian player concluded.
Modric ed Real Madrid from Tottenham in 2012 and will leave in 2025 as the player with the most titles in the club’s history.
He collected 28 trophies: 6 Champions Leagues, 6 Club World Cups, 5 European Super Cups, 4 Leagues, 2 King’s Cups and 5 Spanish Super Cups.
Modric was also awarded the highest individual award, the Ballon d’Or, in 2018.
Following the retirement of Toni Kroos in 2024, the Croatian extended his contract with Real Madrid for another season, becoming the oldest player to play for the club, suring Ferenc Puskás (39 years and 40 days).
He is also the oldest goalscorer and a top 10 player with the most official appearances with 590, ten short of Paco Gento’s 600 in eighth place.
Despite a change in his role at Real Madrid, from being an untouchable in a legendary midfield with Toni Kroos to alternating starts with more substitutions, Modric sured his record for games in a year this season.
He played in 56 games, three more than in his first season, 2012-2013.
Modric’s trajectory at the Meringue Club will end after the Club World Cup, played from June 14 to July 13 in the United States, for which Real Madrid extended his contract from the usual end date, June 30.
The Meringue captain’s last game in Spain will be Saturday at the Santiago Bernabéu, his home for 13 seasons.
A farewell is being prepared, and Carlo Ancelotti, the most successful coach in the club’s history, will also receive a tribute at the end of his time at Real Madrid, after which he will become Brazil’s coach.
However, there may be more for Modric, who, despite turning 40 in September, has the personal challenge of playing with Croatia at the 2026 World Cup.
His fifth World Cup would be the cherry for Modric’s record-setting career. The Croatian player, born on September 9, 1985, played with the national team at the 2006 World Cup in , 2014 in Brazil, 2018 in Russia and 2022 in Qatar.
EFE
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