Real Madrid icon Luka Modric reveals secret to longevity

Few players can claim to have done it as well as Luka Modric, and even fewer for as long as the Croatian. The 40-year-old appears to be enjoying his football again in Serie A at AC Milan after leaving Real Madrid this past summer, despite his advancing years.

Modric struggled for a starting role last season at Real Madrid, and decided to move on, but has found his groove again at San Siro. Aiming to be in form for the 2026 World Cup this year in the USA, Canada and Mexico, the veteran has started all 17 of the Rossoneri’s 17 Serie A games, and his efforts have contributed to them being at the top of the table.

During an interview this week with CdS, Modric was asked what his secret was. MD quoted his answer.

“Love. Loving football, thinking about football, living for football. Football, along with my family, is the most important thing I have. The secret is passion. Diet and training are secondary. To stay at the top for a long time, you need heart. I’m as happy training as I was playing as a child.”

The gifted technician was notorious in the Spanish capital for his exemplary care for his body, and his professionalism. Modric explained that lived a fairly normal life off the pitch though.

“I love normality. A normal family, a normal life, the little things. I don’t feel unique. In my life, I’ve never thought, not for a second, that I was superior to anyone. If I hadn’t been a footballer, I would have liked to be a waiter.”

Modric’s surprise alternative career

The AC Milan star also revealed that were he not to have been a footballer, he would have been to pursue a surprising career route.

“It was quite good. And I liked it. I studied at the Borik hospitality school. The first year, we trained at the Marina restaurant in Zadar, where wedding banquets were held. I was good at serving drinks; and at Croatian weddings, people drink a lot. The only thing I didn’t like was washing the dishes.”

Will Luka Modric go into management?

Few have the experience of Modric at the top level, and he is now playing in a fifth country in Europe. Modric was asked if would consider putting it to good use after he retires from playing.

“I’d like to stay in football, as a coach or as a manager, I don’t know yet. But first I think I still have something to contribute on the pitch.”

During the same interview, Modric explained that Carlo Ancelotti was the best manager that he thought he has played under. He did have kind words for Jose Mourinho and youth coach Tomo Basic too.