Gulf Today

‘Exceptiona­l’ Modric defying age, deferring Real reform

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MADRID: Real Madrid’s best player for the last three months is 35 years old and out of contract in the summer.

Luka Modric has perhaps been Real Madrid’s best player this season, as well as being voted player of the month by the club’s fans for November, December and January. He could deservedly win February too.

Nobody in Zinedine Zidane’s squad is older and yet only four have played more minutes in 2020/21, one of them goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.

Modric is joint third top scorer at the club and fith for assists, even though by his own admission his contributi­on is never truly reflected by those measuremen­ts.

Compare Modric, for example, to Frenkie de Jong at Barcelona, another playmaking midfielder, who is 12 years younger and having an excellent season himself.

Modric has dribbled more than De Jong, been fouled more, intercepte­d more, taken more shots, blocked more shots, and scored the same number of goals.

“I have the same desire to play, to compete for my place, and I really want to show that age is not a problem,” said Modric in a press conference last month.

“What is important is how you play on the pitch and hopefully I can stay at this level for many years.”

Modric’s contract expires at the end of June and while reports in December claimed a one-year deal has been broadly agreed, three months on nothing is official.

There is perhaps more haggling to be done, especially by Real, whose financial situation means not a single euro can be spared.

“It would be fantastic to finish my career in this fantastic club in this fantastic city,” Modric said in September. “But it is not my decision. It’s up to Real Madrid, the decision is theirs.”

If the contract is allowed to expire, there would be no shortage of teams interested, including some of Europe’s biggest and best.

Yet, as Sergio Ramos is also discoverin­g, Madrid’s reluctance to extend is not just about the money but the message, what it says about a club desperate to enter a new era to be hanging on to the icons of the last one.

Ater all, what happens when the old players are still beter than the new ones? When the oldest player is, in fact, arguably the best one?

Luis Suarez was pushed out by Barcelona last summer, not so much because he was under performin g--he scored 21 goals last season--but because the club wanted to launch a new cycle.

Zidane’s loyalty to a select core helped him win three Champions League titles in a row but in the last few months it has brought pressure. When results have dipped, a criticism has been his refusal to embrace the future.

“Next year they’ ll have to do things, make changes maybe,” Zidane said last month. “But this year we have the right to fight. Let us fight.”

 ?? Courtesy: Real Madrid Twitter ?? Real Madrid players take part in a ↑ training session on Friday.
Courtesy: Real Madrid Twitter Real Madrid players take part in a ↑ training session on Friday.

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