Luka Modrić

Luka Modrić is Real Madrid's living legend. The Croatian midfielder, Ballon d'Or winner in 2018 and four-time Champions League champion with the white club, represents technical excellence and sporting longevity taken to their maximum expression. Approaching 40 years old, he remains a relevant player in the first team squad.

He arrived at Madrid in 2012 from Tottenham Hotspur for €35 million, in an operation questioned by the specialist press who doubted his ability to succeed at the world's most demanding club. Modrić's response was the best possible: he became the best central midfielder of his generation and the brain of the squads that won La Décima, Undécima, Duodécima and Decimotercera Champions Leagues.

His playing style is inimitable: exquisite ball control under pressure, panoramic vision that allows him to thread passes into space before teammates complete their runs, and an economy of movement that allows him to maintain his physical level for 90 minutes despite advancing age. The Bernabéu treats him as what he is: an institution.

Modrić has won with Madrid five Champions Leagues, four LaLigas, two Club World Cups and multiple domestic trophies. He is the player with the most victories in Champions League history. With the Croatian national team, he took them to the 2018 World Cup final — eliminating Argentina in the quarter-finals — and to third place in 2022.