Veteran midfielder Luka Modric has arrived in Italy to complete his move to seven-time European champions AC Milan. The 2018 Ballon d’Or winner and the club announced his arrival in Milan in an Instagram video. While he will forever be remembered as a Real Madrid legend due to his prolific 13-year stint with the Spanish giants, Modric grew up a Milan fan because his idol and fellow Croat, Zvonimir Boban, played for the club in the 1990s.
“Ciao everybody, I just landed in Milan, very happy to be here (and) to start a new chapter in my career,” Modric says in a video shared jointly by him and Milan on Instagram. Modric won a stunning 28 trophies with Real, having joined them in 2012 from Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur. He won the Champions League six times with them, along with four Spanish League titles six European Cups, two Copas del Rey, five European Super Cups, five Spanish Super Cups and six Club World Cups.
Milan were among the dominant sides of Europe for much of Modric’s early years in football in the 2000s but their stock dipped quite alarmingly after the first decade of the 21st century. While they won their first league title in 11 years in 2022, Milan’s last season ended with fan protests against club ownership with the club finishing a disappointing eighth. Milan have won just one trophy, the Italian Super Cup last year, since their title win which, along with the sacking of club legend Paolo Maldini as technical director in 2023, had drawn the fan’s ire.
The club rehired Massimiliano Allegri as coach after the season, replacing the fired Sergio Conceicao. Allegri won the Italian league for the first time with Milan in 2011, then guided Juventus to five straight titles from 2015 to 2019. Allegri reportedly called former Madrid and Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti to ask about Modric’s form. Then new Milan sporting director Igli Tare traveled to Croatia’s training camp last month to seal the deal with Modric.
The deal was made before the Club World Cup but Modric couldn’t join his new club until he finished playing for Madrid at the tournament in the United States. Madrid was beaten 4-0 by Paris Saint-Germain in the semifinals in Modric’s final match with the club.
Milan’s last Champions League title came in 2007 and despute the nearly two decade drought since then, they remain the second most succesfull club of all time in Europe, with their seven wins only behind Madrid’s 15.
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