Luka Modrić

Luka Modrić (Croatian pronunciation: [lûːka mǒːdritɕ]; 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 24 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, also being named the IFFHS World's Best Playmaker in 2018. 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 twelve times between 2007 and 2023.