MLS
Beckham’s Inter Miami provides escape route for Real Madrid’s Modrić
The legendary Croatian midfielder is not having the best of times with the Santiago Bernabéu club and the Herons could open the door for him.
There is no doubt that one of the footballers who has been instrumental in Real Madrid’s recent golden era is Luka Modrić. Despite holding a legendary status, though, the now 38-year-old Croatian is seeing limited playing time under Carlo Ancelotti in the current season, a situation that is unusual for him. An interesting alternative for Modrić could be a move to Inter Miami in the MLS.
Modrić, Madrid, Miami
In the first half of the season, it was revealed that the number 10 of the Merengues and David Beckham had met in Europe - a situation later confirmed by the legendary Pedja Mijatović on Spanish programme Carrusel Deportivo of Cadena SER: “Messi himself has shown interest in the possibility. In Croatia, Modrić met with Beckham, and they had lunch.”
These statements from the man who secured the seventh European crown for Los Blancos came in late September, after images of Luka and Beckham in Šipan, an island in Croatian territory, were leaked. Now, amid tension arising from Modrić's absence of playing time against Almería and Las Palmas, new information has surfaced.
According to journalist Manu Carreño on El Larguero, the leader of the Croatian national team will not sign an extension with Real Madrid. Therefore, his time in the capital would conclude on the last day of June 2024, and the midfielder would become a free agent. The headline of the radio program in Spain was very clear: “Luka Modrić will not renew in any way, because he knows what’s going on.”
In addition to this, the Ballon d’Or winner after the 2018 World Cup was very clear during the October international break when he said: “I don’t want to be sidelined. I just want to play, if necessary every three days, because I feel physically well.”
Records from the 2023-24 season show that the midfielder has started in nine out of 16 LaLiga matches, averaging 50 minutes per game. In the Champions League, he has started in three out of five matches, with an average of 60 minutes per game.
The current squad of Inter Miami already boasts key figures such as Messi, Suárez, Busquets, and Alba. However, adding Luka could be crucial to strengthening the spine of a club that aims to compete in all the tournaments it enters. If Modrić ultimately does not renew with the Merengues, after participating in the Euro 2024 in Germany, joining the Herons in MLS remains a possibility.