It is tough to imagine Real Madrid without Luka Modric. There is no one like him, even at almost 40. There is nothing like him. We simply have to appreciate the greatness before it is time for him to hang up the boots. He was, once again, brilliant against Rayo Vallecano, where he played the full 90 minutes.
Modric is not a regular starter for Real Madrid anymore. Everyone knew this time would come, but no one knew that, even at the ripe old age of almost 40, Modric would still be dominating charts off the bench.
He does not play as much as the others, which makes two of the statistics he is leading all Real Madrid players in so much more important.
Luka Modric leads all Real Madrid players in big chances created (14) and chances created (46) in LaLiga this season. You read that right.
Modric, in the entire league, ranks fourth in the first category and third in the other. It is simply mind-boggling.
Age factor aside, what makes it even better is that he leads the list while playing just 1250 minutes in LaLiga. For context, Kylian Mbappe, who is second on the list of most big chances created by a Real Madrid player, has played almost 1000 more minutes than the Croatian wizard (2157).
Modric provides Real Madrid with so much more than just chance creation. It is the control, the press resistance, the calmness that you really cannot get from any player on the team. It is something that Toni Kroos had a lot of, and it is something the team misses when Modric is not on the pitch.
Real Madrid would need to figure out how they will replace him whenever he decides to leave the club or retire from professional football. However, even though he is in the last few days, weeks and months of being in his 30s, Modric is still not showing any signs of slowing down, and that could only mean good things for the club.