Set for Real Madrid exit
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Later this afternoon Real Madrid will take to the pitch at the Santiago Bernabéu for the final time this season, as they face Real Sociedad in the final matchday of the LaLiga campaign. There will no doubt be tears across the stadium at full time and while some of them may be for the horrendous season that just came to a close and others may be due to a final goodbye to manager Carlo Ancelotti before he departs for Brazil, the vast majority will likely be aimed at Luka Modric as he departs the pitch in the all-white of Los Blancos for the final time.
On Thursday in a joint statement, the Croatian international and the Spanish giants confirmed that Modric would depart Madrid 13 years after joining the club from Tottenham Hotspur for just €35 million. “The time has come. The moment I never wanted to come, but that’s football, and in life everything has a beginning and an end. On Saturday I will play my last match at the Santiago Bernabéu,” said the 39-year-old midfielder on Instagram. “I arrived in 2012 with the desire to wear the shirt of the best team in the world and with the ambition to do big things, but I couldn’t imagine what came next. Playing for Real Madrid changed my life as a football player and as a person. I am proud to have been part of one of the most successful eras of the best club in history.”
Indeed, over the course of 13 seasons and no less than 590 appearances for the club, Modric has won a staggering four LaLiga titles, two Copa Del Rey trophies and been crowned the champion of Europe six times in the colours of Madrid. Such has been Modric’s success at the Spanish club that he now sits top of the table when it comes to players with the most Champions League titles, level with no less than three of his team mates at the club. So who was Modric’s most valued teammate over the course of his career in the Spanish capital and which players were lucky enough to spend most of their time at the club playing alongside the midfield dynamo? Let’s take a look.
Which players has Modric played the most with during his career?
Although Modric will fondly remember his time at Dinamo Zagreb and Tottenham, the vast majority of his career was spent at Madrid and when we look at which players have played alongside him the most it is understandable a clean sweep of players from the Spanish club. Unsurprisingly, the top of that list is Karim Benzema, with whom Modrić shared the pitch an incredible 404 times. Gareth Bale (301 games) and Vinícius Júnior (255) complete the forward line, showcasing both long-standing and newer attacking partnerships. These figures underline the Croatian midfielder’s longevity at Real Madrid, having overlapped with multiple eras of forwards at the club. Curiously, Cristiano Ronaldo doesn’t make the starting XI despite playing 222 games with Modric – placing him 14th on the list of players by appearances.
In midfield, the trio of Modrić, Toni Kroos, and Casemiro formed one of the most dominant units in modern football. Kroos (334 games) and Casemiro (259) featured alongside Modrić extensively during Real Madrid’s golden run of Champions League success, anchoring the team in both domestic and European competitions. At the back, full-backs Dani Carvajal (324) and Marcelo (252) played huge roles in supporting Modrić both defensively and in attack, often combining with him to control tempo and transition play from deep. The centre-back pairing of Raphaël Varane (268) and Sergio Ramos (282) further reflects the consistency of Madrid’s back line during Modrić’s prime years, while Thibaut Courtois (247) in goal demonstrates how the Belgian quickly established himself as a mainstay following his arrival in 2018.
When it comes to the managers Modric has worked under the most, Ancelotti leads the way with Saturday’s match likely to be the 276th time the Italian tactician has picked the Croatian midfielder in his team. Such has been the longevity of Modric’s career in Spain that he’s actually worked under two Ancelotti managerial stints at Madrid, both between 2013 and 2015 and this current spell, which began in 2021. Not far behind Ancelotti is Zinédine Zidane (202 games), then former Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp (152) takes third, followed by José Mourinho (53).
