Almost 850 games for four clubs
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Almost 850 professional games for four clubs, over 200 scorers and several trophies: Luka Modrić looks back on an extraordinary career. On Tuesday the Croatian celebrates its 40th birthday, he is far from thinking about quitting. He recently changed the club again and signed at AC Milan by 2026, and after the season the contract can be extended by one year. With a market value of 4 million euros, there is only one footballer in the history of the market values that have been raised since 2004, which was even higher at this age: Cristiano Ronaldo.
The professional from Al-Nassr turned 40 in February and is rated at EUR 12 million. He set a new record and replaced Zlatan Ibrahimović and Edwin van der Sar as the most valuable 40-year-old in history. The Swede, who resigned in 2023 and the former top goalkeeper, previously held the maximum value with EUR 4 million each. Modrić is now joined for the duo.
In addition to Van der Sar, this statistics contain many other goalkeepers such as Jens Lehmann, who was located at VfB Stuttgart at 3 million euros in 2009, David James, Brad Friedel (both 3 million euros), Gianluigi Buffon (2 million euros) or Mark Schwarzer (1.5 million euros) in top 10. Other field players in addition to the already mentioned trio are Paolo Maldini (2 million euros), Joaquín and Jorge Molina (both 1.5 million euros). Like Modrić and Ibrahimović, Maldini was also active on his 40th birthday with Milan.
More statistics on the extraordinary career of Modrić
At 39, Modrić is the second oldest access in Milan’s history, just surpassed by goalkeeper Marco Storari, who returned to the Lombards at the time in January 2017. Rather, the playmaker also follows the footsteps of Ibrahimović, who moved to Milan again in 2019 at the age of 38 and even won a Scudetto as the leader in 2022. Modrić has been used three times for the Rossoneri. After a used season in which the European Cup was missed and the cup final was lost, he is said to lead the club back into the top group. The qualification for the Champions League is the most important goal.
TM quiz: 10 questions about Luka Modric
Before Milan, Modrić was active for Dinamo Zagreb, Tottenham Hotspur and Real Madrid. By far it was most common with 597 times for the royal. This includes the top 10 of the mostly recorded players of the Blancos. Modrić won 28 club titles with the Madrilenen, including the Champions League six times. In 2018 he was awarded the FIFA World Football Award, the Ballon d’Or and the title as Europe’s footballer of the year by the UEFA. With Croatia, the veteran, who previously played 190 caps for his home country, became third and third in the 2018 World Cup.