Real Madrid legend pays tribute to departing midfielder – ‘What an incredible footballer’ | OneFootball

Real Madrid are back in Madrid after their FIFA Club World Cup elimination and players are now heading off on vacation ahead of the start of the new season.

For Luka Modric, however, the recent days have been very emotionally exhausting as his time as a Real Madrid player has officially come to an end. In fact, the player was recently seen leaving the Valdebebas with his belongings and his departure still stings every Real Madrid fan.

Modric will go down as a bona fide legend of the club, one who defined an era for Los Blancos and helped them to success after success every year. He is, however, far from done and will likely join AC Milan in the coming weeks.

Bale speaks on Modric

Speaking to ESPN (h/t Madrid Xtra) earlier this week, Real Madrid and Wales legend Gareth Bale opened up on Luka Modric, his time with the midfield maestro and what made the veteran so special in the world of football.

“Modric? What an incredible footballer. I always call him a fine wine, just keeps getting better with age,” he began, showering praise on Modric.

Modric played his last game for Real Madrid this week. (Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)

He then relived the moment when he first saw Modric play football which was back at Tottenham Hotspur and how he was impressive from the very beginning.

“The first time at Tottenham, Modric was so small and I was still young at the time, but you just never thought he’d be able to keep up with the Premier League kind of pace.”

“Then he got the ball, dropped the shoulder, just kept everybody away from it and he just got better and better,” he added.

Bale then went on to declare that the Croatian star was far from done and that he still had a lot to offer to football. Concurrently, he admitted that Real Madrid’s decision to part ways with him was understandable.

“I think Modríc could arguably still keep playing, but I think Real Madrid wants to take the younger players and carry on, otherwise he’s kind of holding a spot back.”

Finally, he laid out his tribute to the player as he leaves Real Madrid, saying,

“Modric is an incredible player, not just for Real Madrid but for world football.”

“It’s been a pleasure to play with him for all those years.”