Luka Modric will continue at AC Milan for one more season after exercising his contract extension. The Croatian midfielder rejected retirement despite Real Madrid's interest in bringing him back to the club in a sporting role.
A lot had been rumored about Luka Modric's professional retirement, but everything has now been clarified. The Croatian, who will turn 41 in September, has decided to continue one more year at AC Milan, with whom he signed last year after his glorious spell at Real Madrid.
Modric joined the “rossoneri” for one season, having the option of extending his deal for one more year, an option he has finally exercised, and it was the Italian team itself that announced it on its social media with a video in which the player is forceful and states that he will stay at San Siro for another season.
The midfielder arrived on Italian soil on a free transfer and played 37 matches last season, scoring two goals and being one of the key players in the side coached by Massimiliano Allegri.
“The future still bears his name. Luka’s story as a ‘rossonero’ continues,” Milan stated in an official statement in which it reports the extension of the player’s contractual bond. Modric himself, with a big smile, recorded a short video in which he points out that “soon” he will see the Milan fans.
And his spell in Lombardy will be extended by another year, even though the team failed to secure qualification for the next edition of the Champions League. As a consequence, the club decided to dismiss Allegri, with whom Modric had built a great relationship, but his replacement on the bench, Ruben Amorim, has favored the continuity of the star from Zadar.
The announcement of Modric’s extension with Milan comes after a World Cup in which Croatia’s elimination against Portugal sounded like a farewell for him. In fact, several Italian media outlets have pointed out in recent days that Luka could play his last match with his country in the October 6 game against Spain, part of the Nations League, with the intention of focusing on what could be his last season as a professional player.
Winner of the Ballon d’Or in 2018, Modric is a complete reference in his national team, and he aims to recover the prominence he already had at Milan last season. Without a doubt, he has the support of the board and the fans.
At Real Madrid, they were reportedly keeping a very close eye on Modric’s decision on whether he was going to hang up his boots or instead opt to continue one more year at Milan. Florentino Perez's club wants to count on the legendary player in the future, as he is the most decorated player in the entire history of the Santiago Bernabeu after winning 27 titles.
Journalist Inaki Aguirregabiria had already reported that in Concha Espina they wanted to incorporate the No. 10 into their sporting structure, possibly as a player-manager, a liaison role between the boardroom and the locker room. In light of events, that new position will have to wait for a Luka who, for the moment, is resisting “retirement.”
