The Croatian will stay at Real Madrid till June 2022.
The pandemic has forced Real Madrid to enter a financial shell as they didn’t make any transfers ahead of the 2020-21 season. The players and the staff have had to take pay cuts to support the club. Such has been the impact of COVID-19 on the club’s finances that even contract renewals of players had to be delayed.
This season was supposed to the final season of players Luka Modrić, Sergio Ramos, and Lucas Vázquez in the Royal White jersey. While Ramos’ extension, although not yet renewed, was apparent due to his status within the dressing room (he is the captain, duh), the renewals of Modrić and Vázquez had an air of doubt surrounding them. As we enter the second half of the season, things are beginning to take shape, and we now know that Luka Modrić’s contract renewal is all but confirmed, thanks to a report from MARCA.
Extending the contract by a year, Modrić will remain at the club till June 2022, which will have marked ten seasons of Modrić as a Real Madrid player. From being considered the worst signing of the season after the 2012-13 season to becoming one of the rare players to have been awarded with a contract extension at or above the age of 35, Modrić epitomizes greatness in every sense of the word.
The same report from MARCA also suggests that he had far more lucrative offers from MLS and Qatar, but he has penned down a new contract with the club for an even lesser wage than he currently earns. For someone who has been the best player this season, this gesture goes a long way to show that Modrić is intent on retiring as a Real Madrid player and that he would even go ahead with a reduced wage to stay at the club he so dearly loves.
Modrić signing the contract not only busts the notion that players cannot feature for Real Madrid in their late 30’s, but also shows that the club values their legends and decides their future based on pure merit. In my six-and-a-half years of following this club, I have not seen a player getting a contract extension at the age of 35. Iker Casillas was 34 when he left for Porto in 2015 and Raúl was 33 when he left for Schalke 04 in 2010.
I am glad, much like every other Madridista, that Luka Modrić will be a Real Madrid player for another season, and probably for the season after. It would be great if Modrić retires at Real Madrid since he will go down as the greatest central midfielder in club history by the time his time is up at the club.