Luka Modric bio: age, height, stats, wife
Luka Modric is a Croatian professional footballer who is considered to be one of the best midfielders in the world. He currently plays in the Spanish La Liga club called Real Madrid and also happens to be the captain of the national Croatia football team. Modric is famous for his skilful game where he doubles up as a midfielder who can switch from playing as an attacking or defending midfielder.
In Croatian football history, the name Modric is legendary, as he is termed to be the greatest footballer of all time! He is considered to be a football talisman because of his exemplary skills as a “deep-lying playmaker.” This is given to his visionary nature and his skilful ball control, high assists in goals, and being a key player in determining his team's offensive formation play.
Luka Modric profile summary
- Full name: Luka Modric
- Date of birth: 9th September 1985
- Place of birth: Zadar, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia
- Height: 5 feet 8 inches
- Playing position: Midfielder
- Jersey No: 10
- Current club: Real Madrid
Biography
As of 2019, Modric age is 33 years. The Real Madrid professional player was born on 9th September 1985 in a city named Zadar, that is found in Croatia. This naturally makes him a member of the zodiac sign Virgo, a group of people believed to possess high "will power and organizational skills". Coming from a humble background, Luka happens to be the firstborn of his refugee family. His father and mother, namely Stipe Modric and Radojka Dopud, worked together in a knitwear factory. At a tender age of 5 years, he was a shepherd looking after goats and staying at his grandfather's house.
Early life
Unfortunately, the Croatian War of Independence greatly affected Modric's childhood life. The war had his grandfather, who happened to be his namesake, killed, hence forcing the family to escape and be refugees. While living in Hotel Kolovare, his passion for football started developing since football was the only thing that enabled most of the refugee children to have fun during the independence war. The young Luka began to play with his neighbouring kids, especially in the parking lot of the hotel they lived before later joining a football academy where his uncle chipped in the payment. Growing up, he looked up at football legends like Zvonimir Boban and Francesco Totti as for inspiration.
Early career
As a 16-year-old teenager, he managed to secure a position in a local football club named Dinamo Zagreb. This was through a signed contract in the year 2002. Luka earned the signing in through his popularity while still in his home youth team named NK Zadar’s. Three years later, Modric made his official debut in GNK Dinamo, where he put his skills on display by enabling Dynamo to win a total of three home cups. His contribution to the consecutive victory had him scoop the 2007 “Prva HNL Player of the Year” award.
Premier League career
2008 marks the year that Luka joined his first Premier League team. He made his debut through playing for the EPL club named Tottenham Hotspur. His transfer to Tottenham led to a historical record transfer fee that reached £16.5 million. Thanks to Luka Modric contribution, he enabled Tottenham to qualify in UEFA Champions League after almost five decades (50 years) and pushed them forward into finishing at the 2010-2011 quarterfinals.
READ ALSO: Lionel Messi net worth: Salary, cars, house, contract
Joining Real Madrid
With his career taking off fast, 2012 marked the year that Modric was signed to his current club Real Madrid. This was through a humongous transfer fee that reached £30 million. Given to Modric's skilful footwork's, the Croatian player managed to be one of the most instrumental players used by the then coach Carlo Ancelotti and his predecessor coach Zinedine Zidane. From 2015 to 2018, Luka managed to play in all the Champions League tournaments
Luka Modrić stats and awards
In 2016, he was voted as the "Best Midfielder" through winning the La Liga Award marking his second time to scoop the award. One year later, he was awarded as the “Best Midfielder” through the UEFA Club Football Award (2017) and also in 2018. Back in 2015, Modric led the Croatians by being the first player from the country to be listed in the FIFA World XI. The years from 2016 to 2018, Modric also managed to be included in the category UEFA Team of Year. Last year (2018), Luka made world headlines by being voted as The Best FIFA Men's Player, where he also managed to scoop the Ballon d’Or’ award. As a result, the Croatian captain became the first from his country to win the player of the year while also being the only player apart from Messi and Christiano Ronaldo ever to win the award in more than 10 years.
International career
The midfielder made his first appearance for the national team of Croatia in March 2006, where Croatia played against Argentina. Ever since then, Modric has been part of the “Second Golden Generation” in Croatia where he has managed to play in all the major fixtures and tournaments. In the previous 2018 World Cup Final game against France, he was awarded the “Golden Ball” award after being crowned as the “Best Player.” Did you know that Modric has won the award “Croatian Footballer of the Year” for 11 years (2007 – 2018)?
Luka Modric net worth
Given to his successful football career, the number 10 midfielder who is also Croatian's captain is estimated to have an impressive net worth of $7.5 million. This is given to his successful awards that range from winning the “Ballon d’Or’ award, Croatian Footballer of the Year for 11 consecutive years among other numerous football contracts. Luka Modric salary is 9.36 million GBP as per his 2018 contract in Real Madrid with a weekly wage of £180,000.
Luka Modrić wife
The professional Croatian captain is married to his gorgeous wife named Vanja Bosnic. The beautiful couple had their wedding in 2010. Vanja was born on 2nd April 1983 in Croatia. Vanja happened to work at Mamic Sports Agency, where she met her future husband. Together, the couple has a total of three children namely Ivano Modric as the only son and Ema Modric and Sofia Modric as two daughters.
Luka Modric height
Luka Modric Real Madrid midfielder stands tall at 5 feet 8 inches/ 172cm or 1.72m. He possesses a slender/ lightweight body with a weight of 66 kg, which translates to 143 lbs. The midfielders body measures include chest at 39 inches, waist at 32 inches, and biceps at 14 inches. Modric Croatia player has a light brown eye colour and is known for his long medium blonde hair
Luka Modric career in football is filled with great milestone achievements. These include wing 11 consecutive Croatia Footballer of the Year awards and being the only one apart from Messi and Christiano to win the Best FIFA Men's Player in 2018. Coming from a refugee family to being an internationally respected player, Luka is indeed a real football talisman inspiring most of the upcoming players.
READ ALSO: Sadio Mane bio: age, wife, club, salary, stats
Source: Legit.ng