Tottenham Hotspur agreed a £16.5million deal to sign Luka Modric from Dinamo Zagreb on April 26, 2008. The then 22-year-old signed a five-year contract with Spurs and spent four seasons in north London before joining Spanish giants Real Madrid.
Modric was signed during Juande Ramos’ tenure at the club, however, the Spaniard was dismissed just months after the Croatian playmaker’s arrival after a dismal start to the 2008/09 season. It was under his successor Harry Redknapp that Modric began to showcase what he was capable of after initially being dismissed as lightweight.
Redknapp moved Modric into a deeper midfield role, allowing him to utilise his range of passing, creativity and vision to have more of an influence during matches. The positional change proved to be a turning point, something that Modric acknowledged when reflecting on his time at Spurs.
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“The change of position helped me a lot in my career. I used to play more offensively, he said after winning the Ballon d'or in 2018. “When I dropped back, I was able to read the game better and show my creativity. Harry Redknapp made that change.”
Spurs finished ninth in Redknapp’s first season in charge, however, Modric was the catalyst for far loftier ambitions in the coming campaigns. They finished fourth the following year, qualifying for the Champions League for the first time in their history.
However, despite the remarkable turnaround under Redknapp, they couldn’t maintain their place amongst Europe’s elite with a fifth-placed finish the following season. And despite the fact they finished fourth again in 2012, Chelsea claimed the final Champions League spot in controversial fashion by virtue of winning the competition.
With Modric keen to continue playing at the top level, he departed for Real that summer after scoring 17 goals and notching 26 assists in 160 games for Spurs. Redknapp later hailed his contribution to the club and praised his professionalism as a player.
“He’s an amazing player and a great guy. Low maintenance, never a problem," he told talkSPORT. “He just came in every day, trained great and fantastic to watch on the training ground. He’s a model professional and an absolutely top-class player.”
Modric has now been at Real for a decade and during his time at the Bernabeu, he’s won two La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues, with his partnership in midfield alongside Toni Kroos and Casemiro proving to be the foundation of their success. And with Los Blancos currently top of the Spanish League and in the semi-finals of Europe’s elite club competition, Modric could be on the verge of adding more medals to his collection.
Despite not experiencing similar success on the international stage, Modric was integral to Croatia’s run to the 2018 World Cup final. And his sensational displays led in no small part to him finally breaking the Cristiano Ronaldo/Lionel Messi axis by scooping the Ballon d’Or that year.
