Luka Modrić is a professional footballer from Croatia. He plays midfield for Real Madrid in La Liga and is the captain of the Croatia national team. He usually plays in the center of the field, but he can also play as an attacking midfielder or a defensive midfielder. Many people consider him one of the best midfielders of all time and the best Croatian footballer ever.
Modrić was born in Zadar, but during his childhood his family had to move because of the Croatian War of Independence. In 2002, Dinamo Zagreb signed him after he showed promise with his home club’s youth team, NK Zadar. He got better and better at Zagreb and then spent time on loan at Zrinjski Mostar and Inter Zaprei.
He started playing for Dinamo in 2005 and won three league titles and national cups in a row. In 2007, he was named Prva HNL Player of the Year. In 2008, he moved to Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur for a club record transfer fee of £16.5 million. He led Spurs to their first UEFA Champions League appearance in nearly 50 years, reaching the quarter-finals of the 2010–11 tournament.
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Early years and education
Luka Modrić was born on September 9, 1985 and grew up in the hamlet of Modrii, which is part of Zaton Obrovaki, a village on the southern slopes of Mount Velebit, north of the city of Zadar in SR Croatia, which was then a republic within SFR Yugoslavia.
His parents, Stipe Modrić from Modrii and Radojka Dopu from Kruevo near Obrovac, both worked in a knitting factory. He is their oldest child. Modrić spent most of his childhood in the stone house of his father’s grandfather, after whom he was named. The house was on the road above the small village of Modrii, and Modrić was already tending goats at the age of five.
But he was a kid during the Croatian War of Independence. When the war got worse in 1991, his family had to leave the area. In December 1991, Serbian rebels who were part of the SAO Krajina police killed Modrić’s grandfather Luka near his home in Modrii. After the family left, the house burned to the ground.
As a refugee, Modrić lived with his family in Hotel Kolovare in Zadar for seven years. Then he moved to Hotel I. His father became an aircraft mechanic in the Croatian army. Thousands of bombs fell on the city in those years and football was a way to forget the war.
He thinks of it as a difficult time for his family and something that made him who he is today. He also said he didn’t know much about the war because he was friends with so many other kids and their parents didn’t let the war affect them when they were young.
Modrić started playing football, usually in the hotel parking lot, to pass the time during these difficult times. In 1992 he started with the first class and at the same time with a sports academy.
His family didn’t have much money, so Modrić’s uncle sometimes helped pay for the academy. When he was a child Zvonimir Boban and Francesco Totti made him want to play football.
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What is Luka Modric’s net worth?
From December 2022, Luka Modric has an estimated net worth of $75 million (Source: Net worth of celebrities). Luka earns around $359,000 a week at Real Madrid, making him one of the club’s highest-paid players.
Luka Modric’s net worth has increased since he joined RealMadrid, thanks to his hard work and dedication. Even though he is getting older, his career has not slowed down much.
He has a large collection of cars that he enjoys driving. One is a Bentley GT Continental worth about $219,000.
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Tax evasion
When Zdravko Mami, a former director at Dinamo Zagreb, was on trial for tax evasion, Modrić testified as a witness and told about the various contracts he had with the club. Modrić allegedly gave the wrong dates for some important events, so he was accused of lying.
This caused a lot of trouble because Luka said he was innocent and the Croats were divided about what they thought. Some people stood by him, while others thought he was part of a major corruption scandal. In 2018, the accusation of lying was dropped.
Where does Luka Modric live?
In 2019, Modrić is said to have spent around 12 million euros on a house in Madrid. The house stands on a plot of 10,000 square meters and has approximately 2,700 square meters of living space.
There are nine bedrooms in the house, six of which are on the same floor. An 18-seat home theater is another feature that stands out. Downstairs is a full glass wine cellar.
Luka is said to be a real family man and has built a climbing wall in a room he made especially for his children. The house has an outdoor garage that can accommodate up to ten cars. The house also has a large garden, a swimming pool and several sports fields.
His football journey!
Modrić started his career as a player at NK Zadar. When he was 16, he moved to Dinamo Zagreb. Initially, the club sent him on loan to play in the Bosnian Premier League. During this time, Luka improved his style of play and won the Player of the Year award in the Bosnian Premier League at the age of 18.
After proving himself, he was brought back to Croatia and made the Dinamo Zagreb first team. In 2008 Modrić agreed to join Tottenham Hotspur for a transfer fee of 16.5 million pounds.
Luka took a while to become known in England because he was short and hurt his knees, but he eventually proved his critics wrong. When Harry Redknap became Tottenham’s new manager, he put Modrić in a position where he could play better, in the center of the field.
This is when he started showing that he was one of the best playmakers in the world. Redknapp built the whole team around Luka and in 2010 the Croat signed a contract extension for another six years.
Still, Luka would only stay at the club for another two years before it became clear that he was destined for bigger and better things. Chelsea did their best to sign Modrić, but in the end it was Real Madrid who brought the Croat to Spain.
Real Madrid paid £30 million to get Modrić in 2012, and he became one of the key players to ever wear the famous white jersey. Luka initially did not fit in when he played for Jose Mourinhojust like when he first moved to England.
In 2013, he was one of eleven players to start the game. Although the Spanish press was harsh on him initially, many people thought he was the “Best Midfielder in Spain” after he played well for another two years.
In 2015, he was considered one of the best players in the world, and the new manager of Real Madrid, Zinedine Zidane, gave him a bigger role. He won the Ballon d’Or and the Champions League (his fourth Champions League title with Real Madrid) in the same year.
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Let’s take a closer look at Luka Modric’s personal life!
After four years of dating, Modrić got married Vanya Bosnia in a private ceremony in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, in May 2010. They were married a year later in the Catholic Church. Ivano, their son, was born on June 6, 2010. Ema, their first child, was born on April 25, 2013. Sofia, their second child, was born on October 2, 2017.
Outside of football, Modrić usually stays out of the limelight.
Mark Viduka’s cousin, Modrić, is the godfather of Mateo Kovai’s son, Ivan. Viduka is an Australian footballer.
End of 2019, Modrić’s autobiography, My game, was released. It is written by a well-known Croatian sports journalist, Robert Matteoni.
Captains in 2022 is an eight-part sports documentary series created by Fulwell 73 and published by FIFA. It follows six national team captains as they try to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. It was released by Netflix and also screened on FIFA+, FIFA’s own streaming service.
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