Milan’s Luka Modric: “I was convinced my career would end at Real Madrid” | OneFootball

Milan star midfielder Luka Modric has claimed that he always thought his career would end at Real Madrid and he’s still surprised about the move to the Rossoneri.

The Croatian gave a lengthy interview to Corriere della Sera today and he spoke at length about a host of things regarding his career.

He opened up about the move to Milan, saying: “Life always surprises you. Things happen that you never thought possible. I was convinced I would end my career at Real Madrid, but instead. But I’ve always thought this: if I ever had another team, it would be Milan. I’m here to win.”

The midfielder was also asked of his longevity in the game and responded: “Love. Loving football, thinking about football, living for football. Football, with family, is the most important thing I have. The secret is passion. Diet and training are secondary. To stay at the top for a long time, you need heart. I’m as happy in training as I was when I played as a child.”

He also revealed that normality is also a reason for where he is today, claiming that he could’ve been a waiter earlier in his life.

“I love normality. A normal family, a normal life, the little things. I don’t feel unique. In my life, I’ve never thought, not even for a second, that I was superior to anyone else. If I hadn’t been a footballer, I would have liked to be a waiter.”

He thanked his parents for instilling important values in him that have carried on till date, making him last longer.

“It wasn’t an easy story, but my parents, Stipe and Radojka, instilled in me important values: respecting everyone, remaining humble. My father was a worker, my mother a seamstress. Humility helps, on the pitch and in life.”

“My uncle Zeljko was also crucial to me. He and my dad are identical twins, they grew up in symbiosis, they talk ten times a day, and since my uncle doesn’t have any children, we have a special bond.”

Modric also spoke about losing his grandfather and opened up about the pain of war.

“It was December 1991, I was six years old. One evening, my grandfather didn’t come home. They went looking for him. They had shot h in a field on the side of the road. He was sixty-six years old. He hadn’t done anything wrong to anyone. I remember the funeral. Dad carrying me to the coffin and saying, “Son, give Grandpa a kiss.” Even today I ask myself: how can you kill a good man, a just man? Why?”

Speaking further about how those years had an impact on his life, Modric said:

“If it weren’t for the grenades, which were frequent and forced us to flee to underground shelters when the alarm sounded, I can say it was a normal childhood. Or perhaps normalized, in the sense that football helped us live life as it should be lived, at that age. We were many children, but we also played against adults: there I learned that on the pitch, no one gives you anything for free. Those years made me who I am.”

Kaustubh Pandey I GIFN