As Real Madrid were struggling away from home against Celta Vigo Carlo Ancelotti turned to his bench and simply knew that there was a man bound to turn things around. Just like he did 11 years ago on that magical night in Lisbon that marked the start of the greatest chapter in the history of the world’s greatest club.
As soon as he set his foot to the Balaídos pitch, Luka Modrić created history. He became the oldest player ever to appear for Real Madrid in an official match. But what makes the story worth telling is not just the record itself. It’s the fact that even at the age of 39, Modrić is still a crucial figure in the world’s biggest club. His penetrating through ball set up a chance Vinícius Júnior couldn’t have missed and led Real Madrid to an important win.
Real’s Royalty
Of course, Luka’s influence on the game of Real Madrid is old news, as is his longevity and legacy at the Santiago Bernabéu. He is not only Madrid’s oldest-ever player, but also the player that lifted more trophies with the famous white shirt than any other footballer ever to play the game.
The story is, from Luka’s perspective at least, even sweeter after such a bitter start to his Real Madrid career. Brought in by José Mourinho from Tottenham for the price of €35 million in the summer of 2012, his first season was far from impressive, leading the readers of the famous newspaper Marca to choose him as the worst signing of the year. José, however, like so many times before, knew what he was doing. Even though he was far from Madrid when Luka’s time to shine had arrived, the two still remain in very good relations and speak highly of each other.
And Luka’s moment, in fact, didn’t take too long to arrive. The aforementioned magical night in Lisbon, the 2014 Champions League final. Summed up in two words – La Décima. That corner kick in the 93rd minute is exactly where the story begins. The story of an unparalleled domination, the story of a machine that ran riot in European football time after time after time. A machine whose rhythm was dictated by none other than Luka Modrić, the heart of the midfield.
And while Father Time got the best out of all the legends Modrić started his journey with, such as Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane, Casemiro and, most recently, Toni Kroos, it wasn’t the case with the Croatian. If anything, it seems to go backwards. His stellar rise began only after he entered his thirties and his most fruitful period came at an age that is, for most footballers, the age when retirement starts to lurk.
Year after year, Modrić kept the standards of his game very high which resulted with him becoming the most decorated player in Real Madrid’s famous, glorious history.
Retirement? Not so fast!
If we take a look at what some other great midfielders of the 21st century were doing at the age of 39, the case of Luka Modrić seems even more amazing. Due to the huge rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona, let’s start by comparing him with Blaugrana’s greatest midfielders, Xavi and Andrés Iniesta.
Xavi celebrated his 39th birthday in 2019, playing in his fourth season with the Qatari outfit Al-Sadd. It turned out to be his final season as a player and he moved on to coaching very quickly.
Similarly, in August 2023 Andrés Iniesta announced he would be moving on to the UAE shortly after his 39th birthday after 5 years spent with Vissel Kobe in Japan. Earlier this month, the 40-year-old legend announced his retirement from professional football.
Moving on to some other midfield greats, the first that come to mind are the Enlgish duo of Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard.
Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard celebrated his 39th birthday in May 2019, entering his second season of managing the Scottish Premiership side Rangers. Gerrard had retired from playing in 2016 with LA Galaxy being the only club he represented besides Liverpool.
Frank Lampard, the Chelsea icon who also retired in the MLS (New York City FC), did so at the age of 38 and would go on to test himself in management just a year later. Andrea Pirlo, the most famous deep-lying playmaker of the 21st century, had a very similar path to that of Frank Lampard. In fact, they both retired with the same club and at the age of 38 and they both went on to coach the clubs that they spent significant time with as players (Chelsea in Lampard’s case and Juventus in Pirlo’s).
Taking all of that into consideration, Luka Modrić’s role, relevance and significance at the very highest-level of football seems that bit more unreal at the age of 39. Brutal. And the best part is, we’re not sure it will end soon.