Luka Modrić

Modrić's career carries a shape few midfielders match: a teenager from Zadar who went through loan spells at Zrinjski Mostar and Inter Zaprešić before establishing himself at Dinamo Zagreb, where he won three consecutive Croatian league titles. Tottenham Hotspur paid around £16.5 million for him in 2008, and four years later Real Madrid paid roughly double that to bring him to the club.

What followed there turned him into a key figure. He won six Champions League titles, four La Liga crowns and 28 major trophies in total during his time at the club. Four years later, with Croatia finishing third at the World Cup, he collected the Bronze Ball.

His international story runs in parallel to the club one. Since his debut against Argentina in 2006, Modrić has become Croatia's most-capped player and its captain, appearing at five World Cups and five European Championships. Croatia reached the final of the 2023 UEFA Nations League during that span. At home, he has been named Croatian Footballer of the Year a record 14 times, a span stretching from 2007 to 2025 that speaks to a rare consistency at the top level. In July 2025 he left Real Madrid on a free transfer to join AC Milan, taking the number 14 shirt at his new club.