Luka Modrić

Luka Modrić (Croatian pronunciation: [lûːka mǒːdritɕ]; born 9 September 1985) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Serie A club AC Milan and captains the Croatia national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time, and as the greatest Croatian player ever.

Modrić began his professional career with Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb in 2003 before he went on loan spells to Bosnian-Herzegovian side Zrinjski Mostar and Croatian side Inter Zaprešić. He made his debut for Dinamo in 2005 and his great performances earned him a move to Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur in 2008. He led Spurs to UEFA Champions League qualification in 2010, the club’s first qualification in almost 50 years. In the summer of 2012, Modrić joined Real Madrid for a £30 million transfer fee. In his second season, he won the 2013–14 Champions League title and was named in the squad of the season. After Zinedine Zidane took over Madrid in 2016, Modrić was a key member of Madrid’s three consecutive Champions League titles from 2015–16 to 2017–18, and was named into the squad of the season each time. In total, he won 28 major trophies at Madrid, including six UEFA Champions League titles, four La Liga titles, and two Copa del Rey titles, making him the most decorated footballer in the club's history. He left Real Madrid in July 2025, joining Serie A club AC Milan on a free transfer.

Modrić has won numerous individual awards, including the Ballon d'Or in 2018, making him the first player other than Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo to win the award since 2007, the Best FIFA Men's Player, and the UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award, and the IFFHS World's Best Playmaker award in 2018. He has also been named in the FIFPRO World 11 six times and in the UEFA Team of the Year three times. In 2019, he was awarded the Golden Foot award for career results and personality.

Modrić made his international debut for Croatia against Argentina in March 2006, and scored his first international goal in a friendly match against Italy. Modrić has anchored Croatia's "second Golden Generation", participating in every major tournament Croatia has qualified for, including every UEFA Euro from 2008 to 2024 as well as every FIFA World Cup from 2006 to 2022. At Euro 2008, he was named in the Team of the Tournament. Modrić led Croatia to the 2018 World Cup final, winning the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player. In March 2021, he became the country's most capped player. At the 2022 World Cup, he led the team to a third-place finish, winning the Bronze Ball as the tournament’s third best player. He has also been named Croatian Footballer of the Year a record thirteen times between 2007 and 2024. In addition to that, he was named the BTA Best Balkan Athlete of the Year for 2018.

Luka Modrić was born on 9 September 1985 in Zadar and was raised in the hamlet of Modrići, which is a part of Zaton Obrovački, a village situated on the southern slopes of the mountain Velebit, north of the city of Zadar in SR Croatia, then a republic within SFR Yugoslavia. He is the oldest child of Stipe Modrić from Modrići and Radojka Dopuđ from Kruševo near Obrovac, both of whom initially worked in a knitwear factory. Modrić mostly spent his early years in the stone house where his paternal grandfather usually lived after whom he was named, located on the road above the hamlet of Modrići (this "upper house" was not owned by the family), and was shepherding goats as a five-year-old.

However, his childhood coincided with the Croatian War of Independence—in 1991, when the war escalated, his family were forced to flee the area. Modrić's grandfather Luka was executed by Serb rebels who were part of the police of SAO Krajina in December 1991 near his house in Modrići, and after the family fled, the house was burned to the ground. Modrić became a refugee and lived with his family in the Hotel Kolovare for seven years; he later moved to the Hotel Iž, both in Zadar. His father joined the Croatian Army as an aeromechanic. In those years, thousands of bombs fell on the city and football was a way to escape the reality of war. He recalls it as a tough time for his family and something which shaped him as a person. He also said he was mostly unaware of the war because he befriended many other children and their parents did not let it affect their childhood.

In these difficult circumstances, Modrić began playing football, mostly at the hotel parking lot. In 1992, he simultaneously entered the primary school and a sporting academy, the latter paid for with the little money the family had, sometimes helped by Modrić's uncle. As a boy he was inspired to play football by Zvonimir Boban and Francesco Totti.

Supported by his family, Modrić participated in representative camps and trained in NK Zadar. He was under the tutelage of coach Domagoj Bašić and the head of the youth academy, Tomislav Bašić. Tomislav Bašić, considered by Modrić as his "sporting father", said Modrić's father made him wooden shin guards because they had little money. However, Modrić later denied the story. Due to being considered too young and light, he was not signed by Croatian powerhouse Hajduk Split, the most representative football club in the region of Dalmatia. After displaying some talent, including at a youth tournament in Italy, Tomislav Bašić arranged Modrić's move to Dinamo Zagreb when Modrić was a 16-year-old in late 2001. After a season with Dinamo Zagreb's youth side, Modrić was loaned in 2003 to Zrinjski Mostar in the Bosnian Premier League. During this period, he established his versatile style of play and became the Bosnian Premier League Player of the Year at only the age of 18. Modrić later said, "Someone who can play in the Bosnian Premier League can play anywhere," referring to its physical nature. The following year, he was loaned to Croatian side Inter Zaprešić. He spent one season there, helping the team to achieve second position in the Prva HNL and a place in the preliminary round of the UEFA Cup. He also won the Croatian Football Hope of the Year award in 2004. He returned to Dinamo Zagreb in 2005.