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AC Milan’s second signing of the summer is through the door, and it is a man who needs very little introduction: Luka Modric.
‘Modric Mania’ gripped Milano on Monday as the midfielder landed in the city in the morning, before undergoing his medical at La Madonnina clinic and his fitness tests at the Ambrosiana Centre. After that, he went to Casa Milan and signed a one-year deal, with the option for another.
Igli Tare and Massimiliano Allegri had spoken already about the signing before it was even completed, basically confirming it was imminent. On Monday evening the official announcement did arrive from the club.
Often when we do player insight pieces it is because they may be unknown to Milanisti, but that doesn’t apply one bit to Modric given what he has achieved in the game. Nevertheless, what can we expect from the most decorated player in Real Madrid history?
Back story
This section could just be left simple. A player like Modric doesn’t need an introduction, he’s in that elite brand of footballer that everyone knows him. However, doing so would be a disservice to him; both as a man and as a footballer.
So, what made the young kid from Croatia one of the best midfielders of a generation?
His story starts in 1985, September 9, at that point, no one knew what was to become. After all there was much more to think about. As Diario AS writes, the midfielder’s family had to travel 60km for him to be born, due to the tensions in his homeland.
A more than difficult start to the story, but it only continued like that. Tensions continued to grow in 1991, the ‘Croatian War of Independence’ begun. His family were forced to flee the area, their house was destroyed, his father joined the army.
Though, tragedy struck beyond that as Modric’s grandfather – who he was so close to – literally ‘died on his doorstep’ as was written in his autobiography, as the Guardian relayed in an interview piece with him in 2020. Luka was only six at the time.
Surrounded by war, fear, sadness, Modric found something to keep going with: football.
In that same interview with the Guardian he stated the following:
“These things can make you tougher or can break you. I choose the other way; I choose to become tougher, to create my character. Yeah, it was… [he pauses, breathes] There was a lot of fear around but you have to cope.
“Things that happened made me stronger. I can say tough. When you go through what I have been through, it is much easier to accept some things that are happening in your life later, footballing-wise or defeats or critics or this or that.”
Aware and afraid of the terrors surrounding him and his family, the midfielder began to play football in the car parks of the refugee hotels in the area. A way to avoid the horrors, enjoy being a child, even if only temporarily.
The Guardian relayed comments from NK Zadar staff, the closest football club to the area.
Josip Bajlo, chaiman: “He was skinny and really small for his age, but you could see right away that he had that something special in him.
Tomislav Basic, an early coach of Modric: “Thousands of grenades, fired from the surrounding hills, fell on the training pitch in those years, and we were always racing to reach the shelter. Football was our escape from reality.”
From Zadar, Modric continued to grow as a player, but not as much literally. Hadjuk Split, the biggest club in the region and the club he supported, rejected him for being ‘too small and weak’, as Slobodna Dalmacija reported.
Instead, he signed for the club’s rivals, Dinamo Zagreb. From there, the rest is history really. In 2005-06, he signed a long-term deal with the club after shining in Croatia. With that money, he provided a new home for his family.
A report from the World Game (via the Wayback Machine) has statements from Zdravko Mamic, the president of Zagreb. In that piece, he stated that ther had already been offers of €50 million for the magician. Each rejected, but in 2008, the midfielder was becoming one of the hottest talents in football.
Later that year, he signed for Tottenham Hotspur, a chance on the big stages of club football, moving for a record fee for the North London outfit.
The start to life in London was not easy, though the arrival of Harry Redknapp saw him get a cemented role in the midfield, and again, the rest is history. He was named Spurs’ Player of the Year in 2010-11, and the year after he moved to Real Madrid. Do we have to say it again.
Little needs to be said about his time in Madrid. You just need to look at his honours, and then keep looking (there are really that many, speaking from experience here).
Multiple Champions League titles, several La Liga wins, a European Championship final. Though, the biggest was the Ballon d’Or, something to cement a legacy and crown the career, and life, of a true champion.
Marca published comments after he won the award in 2018: “There’s a saying that the best things in life don’t come easily and I believe that, my life has been based on fighting and on achieving objectives through hard work. It hasn’t been easy, but I have won it.
“History will say that a Croatian player, representing his small country, won the Ballon d’Or after Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, who are players at another level. Nobody has the right to compare themselves to them. They are the best in the history of this sport.
“To come after them is incredible, although I don’t think for one second that it’s over for them. I consider myself a normal person and act that way, while I see that people see me as such. They see me as a humble person. I am happy that someone normal is able to win the Ballon d’Or.”
Taking you back to when Modric was a boy, he idolised Zvonnimir Boban and Francesco Totti, whilst also loving Johan Cryuff – the reason he wore 14 in England, and likely the same with the Diavolo. However, Boban always took the mantlepiece spot, as Marca relayed in 2012.
“The players who inspired when I started playing football were Boban at AC Milan, one of the best Croatian players of all time and Francesco Totti, but especially Boban.”
There have been images of Modric from his childhood in a Milan tracksuit, and this explains why. Several reports have stated that the midfielder has fulfilled a childhood dream to wear the Milan shirt. Representing the club that his idol did before him.
Of course, we could go into the little intricacies of his career. The magical moments in Madrid, easily. However, the story of Modric is truly heartbreaking and beautiful. One of the most brilliant players in the history of a nation, a midfielder that has defined a footballing generation.
The struggles of childhood to the heights of football excellence. It would be easy to focus on the latter, but the real reason why Modric excelled was due to his start. A horrifying tale, his childhood tragic in every sense.
What emerged, though, is one of the most brilliant and beautiful footballers of the past 25 years. It is an almost perfect curtain calling, if it is to be that, for it to finish (at least at the elite level) with the club that he loved growing up.
Strengths and weaknesses
Trying to summarise the way that Luka Modric plays football is almost like trying to put art into words. In fact, the Italian media have already compared him to Picasso, such is the beauty and elegance with which he interpreted the role of midfield linchpin.
The phrase that seems to fit best with Modric is ‘fine wine’ because he keeps getting better with age. He is potentially the best active embodiment of an all-round multi-tool midfielder, because there is very little that he cannot do.
The attribute that stands out above all else is his ball retention. On the dribble, he is able to weave through gaps and take the midfield department from one third into the next, with the kind of style that a winger would be proud of. His quick turns and excellent technique add to the unpredictability.
Not only that, but it is his vision that means defending against the dribble is not a simple way to stop him. The Croatian always has an eye for that killer line-splitting pass, either into the forward areas – wide or centrally – or in behind the opposition defence.
Master creator 💫
Luka Modrić’s top assists in European football 🔥 pic.twitter.com/xik4nHvAO4
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) July 15, 2025
What bodes well for Milan is that he has perfected his trade in the last decade-plus at Real Madrid. Not only does this mean that Modric is suited to a high-pressure environment, but also that he is used to facing and picking the lock of low-block defences.
Playing in either the mezzala (box-to-box) or regista (deep-lying playmaker) roles in a midfield three, the 39-year-old shows a remarkable ability to dictate the tempo. It’s not that football has left him behind as he approaches 40, more that he has the single-handed ability to set the pace that it is played at.
In possession, Modric is pretty much the perfect pivot to have, in the sense that he will receive the ball anywhere – even under pressure – and be able to turn to start an attack, with a dribble or a forward pass as aforementioned.
All this is helped by having a low centre of gravity and being as quick in the mind as he still is in his legs. Not only that, but Modric shows exceptional efficiency in possession too, knowing when the right time is to keep the ball cycling and when to push and probe more.
Despite his age, the former Dinamo man still has a very high work rate and stamina, contributing effectively in both phases. That being said, his minutes were dialled down last season for various reasons.
So, it might be a case of giving 100% for 35 games rather than 80% for 45 games at Milan, such is the way that he plays with such a high intensity and the desire to make things happen.
Moreover, Modric is a natural leader. There are a lot of big personalities in the Real Madrid dressing room yet he commanded the respect of everyone, while it has been an even more impressive asset while with Croatia.
The Croatian national team have often punched above their weight considering the size of the country and the resources available. They were runners-up at the 2018 World Cup and finished third in the 2022 World Cup, with Modric of course playing a crucial role as creator and general in the middle.
So, what are the downsides? Given that he is almost 40 years of age, everything that made him a Ballon d’Or winner in 2018 exists still, though perhaps with just a bit less burst and dynamism over long passages of games than before.
Modric has never been a tank physically, so while he remains tenacious in duels and will not shy away from battles, he cannot be relied upon for a huge defensive contribution. This leads us to believe he could be used further forward, as a No.8 or even a No.10.
It feels like we are nit-picking a bit, but sometimes Modric’s finishing in danger areas leaves a bit to be desired sometimes. Admittedly, it was never his job at Real Madrid to be that player though; they had plenty of others for that.
In theory, if the right midfield is built around him (with running and physicality) then age is but a number. Modric could actually further evolve the player he is, and there will be games where he gets even more time on the ball than he was used to in LaLiga.
Statistical comparison
In the 2024-25 La Liga season, Modrić ranked 4th in accurate passes per 90, 1st in accurate long balls per 90, 4th in expected assists (xA) per 90, and 2nd in chances created per 90. Those numbers perfectly symbolise how effective he remains.
In a recent match against Rayo Vallecano earlier this year (2025), the Croatian recorded a 90% pass accuracy (62/69 passes completed), 9/10 long balls completed, 4 key passes, 9/13 duels won, and 5 recoveries. Again, all-action midfielder personified.
Compared to other European midfielders in the ‘top five’ leagues, Modric is in the 94th percentile for progressive carries, the 99th for forward passes, the 98th for forward pass accuracy, the 90th for key passes and the 97th for progressive passes.
What is quite interesting is to compare him with two other players known as being the creative forces of their respective teams.
Compared to an injury-hit Kevin De Bruyne in 2024-25, Modric came out on top in duels, defensive actions, progressive carries, forward passes, forward pass %, and progressive passes, in terms of the percentile they rank in.
Might Milan have just found their Tijjani Reijnders replacement? Looking at the radar/spider web below, Modric beats the Dutchman on every category but there is certainly a certain symmetry about the areas that they excel.
Being surrounded by Galacticos at Real is one thing, but the stats for his country show how he has fully developed into a leadership role.
For example, in a game against Poland last year, Modric scored a goal, had 136 touches, 94% pass accuracy (99/105 passes), 22 passes into the final third, 5 chances created and 8 duels won.
Against Scotland not long prior to that he recorded 11 passes into the final third, 8/9 duels won, 6/6 accurate long balls, 6 interceptions, 4/4 take-ons completed and 3 chances created.
In the 2022 World Cup versus the tournament’s surprise team Morocco, Modric had 100% long ball accuracy, 100% take-on success, 93% pass accuracy, 83 touches and 6 possessions won.
Conclusion
Milan are getting a player who will not only go down as one of the best to ever play in their position, but probably still holds that acclaim too. Modric may be touching 40 but the numbers from last season show what he can do.
Massimiliano Allegri will have to manage his minutes of course, yet everything suggests the same Rolls Royce engine is still firmly there. With that, the new coach has a new midfield director, and someone who can really elevate the technical level of the side.
Not only that, but to sign such a decorated player, a leader and a model professional on a free – even taking into account the age factor – means it is basically a risk-free signing. Even the salary at €3.5m net per year is reasonable, and the year option protects all involved.
Transfer rating: 8/10
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