Luka Modric (born 9 September 1985) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for La Liga club Real Madrid and captains the Croatia national team. He plays mainly as a central midfielder, but can also play as an attacking midfielder or as a defensive midfielder. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time, and as the greatest Croatian footballer ever.

Born in Zadar, Modric's childhood coincided with the Croatian War of Independence which displaced his family. In 2002, he was signed by Dinamo Zagreb at age 16, after showing promise with his hometown club NK Zadar's youth team. He continued his development in Zagreb, before spells on loan to Zrinjski Mostar and Inter Zapresic. He made his debut for Dinamo in 2005 and won three consecutive league titles and domestic cups, being named the Prva HNL Player of the Year in 2007. In 2008, he moved to Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur for a club-record transfer fee of £16.5 million, where he led Spurs to their first UEFA Champions League appearance in almost 50 years, reaching the quarter-finals of the 2010–11 tournament.

In the summer of 2012, Modric joined Real Madrid for a £30 million transfer fee. There he became a key contributor and helped the team win La Decima and was selected for the 2013–14 Champions League squad of the season. After Zinedine Zidane took over Madrid, Modric was critical to three consecutive Champions League titles from 2015–16 to 2017–18, each time being voted into the squad of the season. He has won twenty-one major trophies at Real Madrid, including five UEFA Champions League titles, three La Liga titles, one Copa del Rey and four FIFA Club World Cup titles. He won the La Liga Award for "Best Midfielder" in 2016 for the second time, and the UEFA Club Football Award for "Best Midfielder" in 2017 and 2018. In 2015, he became the first Croatian player to be included in the FIFA FIFPro World XI, in which he was regularly included until 2019, as well in the UEFA Team of the Year between 2016 and 2018. In 2018, Modric became the first Croatian player to win the UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award, and by winning The Best FIFA Men's Player and Ballon d'Or awards, he became the first player other than Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo to claim the awards in more than a decade. In 2019, he was awarded the Golden Foot award for career results and personality.

Modric made his international debut for Croatia against Argentina in March 2006, and scored his first international goal in a friendly match against Italy. Modric has anchored Croatia's "second Golden Generation", participating in every major tournament Croatia has qualified for, including the UEFA European Championship in 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020, as well as the FIFA World Cup in 2006, 2014, and 2018. At Euro 2008, he was selected for the Team of the Tournament, becoming only the second Croatian to ever achieve this honour. Following group stage eliminations in his first two World Cups, Modric led Croatia to the 2018 World Cup Final, and he received the Golden Ball award for best player of the tournament. In March 2021, he went on to become the country's most capped player in history. Furthermore, he has been named Croatian Footballer of the Year a record ten times between 2007 and 2021.

A diminutive and technically gifted midfielder, Modric is typically deployed as a creative playmaker and sets the tempo of the match by controlling possession from the middle of the pitch. He has been widely applauded by many footballing pundits, managers, and fellow players for his swift passing and long range shots, both often in the style of the trivela technique, as well as his composure and ability to evade tackles under pressure. He is also noted for his tactical intelligence and versatility in both attack and defense, as well as his vision, interpretation of space, and work rate. A former attacking midfielder, Modric is considered a veteran of the "pre-assist" or build-up play, often creating space and time for his teammates to shoot or deliver goal-bound passes to other players. He is also effective at taking set pieces, particularly corners or wide free kicks.

Modric has been integral to the success of both Real Madrid and the Croatia national team, having won numerous individual honours for his contributions to club and country. His playstyle has earned him several nicknames as dubbed by the media and fandom, including "the midfield Maestro", "the magician", "the puppet master" among others. He has also been compared to an orchestra conductor for his capacity to control his team's gameplan or dictate the tempo of the match.

CLUB

Dinamo Zagreb
Prva HNL: 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08
Croatian Cup: 2006–07, 2007–08
Croatian Supercup: 2006

Real Madrid
La Liga: 2016–17, 2019-20, 2021–22, 2023–24
UEFA Champions League: 2013–14, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2021–22, 2023–24
UEFA Super Cup: 2014, 2016, 2017, 2022
FIFA Club World Cup: 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022
Copa del Rey: 2013–14, 2022–23
Supercopa de Espana: 2012, 2017, 2019-20, 2021–22, 2023–24


INTERNATIONAL

Croatia
FIFA World Cup runner-up: 2018, third place: 2022
UEFA Nations League runner-up: 2022–23

INDIVIDUAL

Bosnian Premier League Player of the Year:
2003

Best Croatian U-21 player:
2004

Croatian Football Hope of the Year:
2004

Croatian Footballer of the Year:
2007, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023

HNL's Footballer of the Year:
2007

Prva HNL Player of the Year:
2007

SN Yellow Shirt Award:
2007–08

UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament:
2008

Tottenham Hotspur Player of the Year:
2010–11

IFFHS World Team of the Decade:
2011–2020

IFFHS UEFA Team of the Decade:
2011–2020

UEFA Champions League Team of the Season:
2013–14, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2020–21, 2021–22

La Liga's Best Midfielder:
2013–14, 2015–16

Football Oscar for Best Croatian Player:
2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023

FIFA FIFPRO World 11:
2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 2022

La Liga Team of the Season:
2015–16, 2021–22, 2022–23

UEFA La Liga Team of the Season:
2015–16

FIFA Club World Cup Silver Ball:
2016

ESPN Midfielder of the Year:
2016, 2017, 2018

UEFA Team of the Year:
2016, 2017, 2018

UEFA Champions League Midfielder of the Season:
2016–17, 2017–18

IFFHS Men's World Team:
2017, 2018, 2022

FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball:
2017

FIFA World Cup Golden Ball:
2018

FIFA World Cup Fantasy Team:
2018

FIFA World Cup Dream Team:
2018

UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award:
2017–18

The Best FIFA Men's Player:
2018

IFFHS World's Best Playmaker:
2018

Goal 50:
2017–18

Ballon d'Or:
2018

World Soccer Player of the Year:
2018

The Guardian Best Footballer in the World:
2018

AIPS Athlete of the Year:
2018

Dongqiudi Player of the Year:
2018

HNS Trophy for Best Croatian Player:
2018

HOO Sportsman of the Year:
2018

SN Sportsman of the Year:
2018, 2022

Franjo Bucar State Award for Sport – Yearly Award:
2018

Honorary citizen of the city of Zadar (2018) and Zadar County (2019)

City of Zadar Award:
2018

Golden Foot:
2019

Real Madrid Player of the Season:
2020–21

ESM Team of the Year:
2021–22

Marca Leyenda Award:
2022

FIFA World Cup Bronze Ball:
2022