Luka Modrić (; born 9 September 1985) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for La Liga club Real Madrid and captains the Croatia national team. He plays mainly as a central midfielder, but can also play as an attacking midfielder or as a defensive midfielder. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time, and as the greatest Croatian footballer ever.
Modrić began his professional career with Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb in 2003 before spells on loan to Bosnian side Zrinjski Mostar and Croatian side Inter Zaprešić. He made his debut for Dinamo in 2005 and his performances earned him a move to Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur in 2008, where he led them to UEFA Champions League qualification in 2010, their first 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, being selected for that season's squad of the season. After Zinedine Zidane took over Madrid in 2016, Modrić was a key member of the club's three consecutive Champions League titles from 2015–16 to 2017–18, each time being voted into the squad of the season. In total, he has won 23 major trophies at Madrid, including five UEFA Champions League titles, three La Liga titles, and two Copa del Rey titles.
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. He has also been named in the FIFPRO World 11 six times and 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 UEFA Euro 2008 to 2020, as well as the 2006 FIFA World Cup to 2022. At Euro 2008, he was selected for the Team of the Tournament. Modrić led Croatia to the 2018 World Cup final, winning the Golden Ball in process. At the 2022 World Cup, he led the team to a third-place finish, winning the Bronze Ball in process. In March 2021, he went on to become the country's most capped player in history. Furthermore, he has been named Croatian Footballer of the Year a record eleven times between 2007 and 2022.
Early life
Luka Modrić was born on 9 September 1985 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 of his paternal grandfather after whom he was named, located on the road above the hamlet of Modrići, 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.