Real head to Moscow with ‘no Galactico’
MADRID: Luka Modric returns to the Luzhniki Stadium today, the scene of Croatia’s World Cup final defeat to France, not only as Fifa’s best men’s player but the star of Real Madrid too.
For the first time in his six seasons at Real, Modric will line up for a Champions League tie without Cristiano Ronaldo, who was sold, or Gareth Bale, who is injured.
There will be no Kaka, Angel di Maria or James Rodriguez either, all of whom Modric has rubbed shoulders with. At 33, he has outlasted them all.
Together, that quintet cost Real almost €400 million (RM2 billion), and each considerably more than Modric, whose fee of around £30 million (RM162 million) in 2012 would not even have got Richarlison out of Watford last summer.
But in this current squad, Modric stands out. In part, because of his brilliance, which has never been in doubt, but also because of the club too. The Galacticos are, just about, all gone. Bale is the last, and he would have been playing against CSKA Moscow, had it not been for a thigh injury picked up on Saturday.
After Modric, Real’s most expensive starters are likely to be Karim Benzema and Toni Kroos — both, like Modric, signed for around €30 million.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in Europe, Barcelona will be fielding Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele against Tottenham. Manchester United will have Paul Pogba, and Paris Saint-Germain Neymar and Kylian Mbappe. All of them surpassed the €100-million mark.
But for now, this is a different Real. Modric can enjoy the limelight.