The midfielder is the maestro of his Real Madrid team. Sure, Ronaldo scores the goals, but Luka Modrić makes the plays. At 32 years-old, he’s regarded as one of the best midfielders in the world. He effortlessly navigates the field and has a magic touch on the ball that we’ve all fallen in love with. Modrić has embraced a hawk-like perspective of the game, which has resulted in him being an incredibly accomplished passer. So how much is the Croatian soccer star worth today? Let’s find out!
Luke Modrić Net Worth 2018: $7.5 Million
As of 2018, Modrić has a net worth estimated to be around $7.5 million and his weekly earnings for Real Madrid are £180,000.
Early Years
Life wasn’t always so easy for Modrić. Born on September 9, 1985, in Zadar, Croatia, he, unfortunately, had to endure being a child of the Croatian War of Independence. His upbringing was surrounded by a lot of pain and suffering due to his home region being saturated by the chaos of war. Serbian military frequently murdered Croatians, landmines were a common occurrence and his family even received death threats.
With danger being around every corner and survival a constant worry, the family moved from Modrici to Zadar. During his time there, the seven-year-old was never seen without a soccer ball at his feet. The coach from a local club, NK Zadar caught news of this soccer-obsessed boy and went to investigate. As it turned out, the coach very much liked what he saw.
2001-2005
Modrić started to gain a lot of attention from the youth teams in Croatia due to his excellent touch on the ball, but he was tiny and short, and often was told that he had to be stronger if he wanted to play at a higher level. Around the time he was 12, Modrić began to contemplate quitting the game altogether. Thankfully, the head of Zadar’s youth academy, Tomislav Basic talked him out of it.
Shortly after, Dinamo Zagreb, Croatia’s top club witnessed the young Croatian boy play and quickly sought to pick him up. At this same time, Modrić made his debut for Croatia’s under-15s team. In 2001, he became an official player for Zagreb but because the team didn’t think he was strong enough physically, they loaned him out to another club in the Bosnian league, Zrinjski Mostar. In the 2004/2005 season, Zagreb once again put Modrić out on loan since they still didn’t think he was ready, but this time he was placed with club team, Inter Zapresic.
2005-2008
After his time growing as a player with Zapresic, Zagreb fully took Modrić on board in 2005 and set him up with a 10-year contract. Modrić did nothing but impress and went on to become a three-time Croatian League winner and the recipient of many player of the year trophies. All this success brought plenty of outside attention.
Arsenal, Manchester United and Barcelona were all heavily considering him in 2008. Barcelona took it the furthest, meeting with Modrić and discussing his potential; however, Barcelona then failed to give him an offer. Luckily, Tottenham was of a differing opinion and in the same year on April 26, Modrić was signed on with the team. He made his first debut for the Premier League on August 12, 2008.
2008-Present
After four outstanding seasons with the Spurs, Modrić then transferred to Real Madrid on August 27, 2012. He originally signed a five-year contract for £33 million, but his contract has since been renewed until 2020.
The midfielder has continued to impress. He won Croatian Footballer of the Year in 2007, 2008 and 2011. In 2016 and 2017, he was awarded a spot on UEFA’s Team of the Year. Additionally, in 2017 he received the FIFA FIFPro World XI trophy. In 2006, he started playing for the Croatia National Team, of which he is now captain.