Luka Modric is Real Madrid’s oldest ever player: His best moments and place in club history

Luka Modric is Real Madrid’s oldest ever player: His best moments and place in club history

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Luka Modric has become the oldest player in Real Madrid’s history at 39 years and 40 days old, overtaking their legendary Hungarian forward Ferenc Puskas.

Modric’s longevity at the top of the game is almost unrivalled. The Croatia midfielder’s 27 trophies across 13 seasons with Madrid are the most of any player in club history and he will soon rack up 550 appearances (he is on 547). Striker Raul is the club’s record appearance maker, having featured in 741 games from 1994-2010.

“By all the parameters of football… Luka should have retired a couple of years ago,” his friend and former Madrid striker Predrag Mijatovic told The Athletic last year. “But then you see him play and you have to say, ‘This guy is not 38 (as he was then), he is 28’.”

Here, we look at what Modric’s peers have said about him, the players he has overtaken to become Madrid’s oldest ever and how that record compares in the Champions League and La Liga — as well as recapping some of his best moments with the Spanish club.

What have Modric’s former team-mates and coaches said about him?

Last year, The Athletic published a piece in which people who have played with and managed Modric paid tribute after he reached 500 appearances for Madrid — becoming only the 12th player to do so. Here are some of the highlights:

Ivan Rakitic, former Croatia team-mate: “He’s a lesson for all of us that age is just a number — he is still playing at a very high level, we are enjoying the football he is giving us, so let him keep doing the same and let the rest of us keep enjoying it.”

Slaven Bilic, ex-Croatia coach: “People ask me, ‘Did he change?’. Of course he changed, but like the iPhone changes every couple of years. They have reached the iPhone 15 or 16 — he has also upgraded, but he had it all in the beginning.”

Predrag Mijatovic, former striker and sporting director for Real Madrid: “You talk to him now and even with everything he has won, he is still crazy about winning. You say to him, ‘What difference does it make to have one trophy more or one less?’. But no. It’s unbelievable. His ambition, it’s different. He is never happy — he wants more and more.”

You can read the full piece here.

What are some of Modric’s best moments for Madrid?

It’s impossible to list all of Modric’s highlights in a Real Madrid shirt. But we’ve had a go here. Feel free to suggest your own in the comments.

Goal against Manchester United, Champions League last 16 second leg, March 2013

The moment Modric’s Madrid career took off after a mixed first season following his move from Tottenham Hotspur of the Premier League.

After the first leg finished 1-1 at the Bernabeu, Madrid were 1-0 down at Old Trafford following a Sergio Ramos own-goal. Nani had been shown a controversial red card to reduce the home side to 10 men but Modric made sure Madrid’s nerves were truly settled when he picked up the ball in United’s half, skipped past Michael Carrick and rifled home a right-footed finish via the post from distance.

Corner for Sergio Ramos goal against Atletico Madrid, Champions League final, May 2014

Everyone remembers Ramos as the hero of La Decima — Madrid’s previously elusive 10th European Cup/Champions League trophy — but the centre-back’s late header to force extra time came from a typically excellent Modric delivery. The most significant goal in Madrid’s modern history — and one made by Modric.

Goal against Barcelona, La Liga, October 2020

This goal loses something because of the setting — an empty Camp Nou during the pandemic — but it still demonstrates some of Modric’s best traits.

With Madrid 2-1 up and Barcelona goalkeeper Neto scrambling as Modric receives the ball on the edge of the area, he deftly shifts to the right, then to his left, with Neto helpless, before poking home with the outside of his right boot.

For viewers in the UK:

For viewers in the U.S.:

Through ball for Karim Benzema against Paris Saint-Germain, Champions League last 16 second leg, March 2022

The first in a series of remarkable comebacks by Madrid en route to winning their 14th European Cup.

Madrid were drawing 1-1 with Paris Saint-Germain at the Bernabeu and losing 2-1 on aggregate with 14 minutes of the 90 to go when Modric regained possession in his own half, burst past Neymar and Idrissa Gueye and played an inch-perfect through ball for Vinicius Junior. The winger held up play before offloading to an unmarked Modric, who threaded another fine pass for Benzema to score his second of the night, before the Frenchman completed his hat-trick with the winner two minutes later.

Outside-of-the-boot pass to Rodrygo against Chelsea, Champions League quarter-final second leg, April 2022

Another crucial Modric moment in a Champions League comeback that season.

Chelsea had somehow fought back from a 3-1 first-leg loss at home to lead 3-0 in Madrid, and 4-3 on aggregate with 10 minutes of the 90 remaining. Which is when Modric took control, looking up and playing a remarkable outside-of-the-boot pass for Rodrygo to run onto and draw the sides level overall. Benzema then won the tie in extra time.

Who are Madrid’s other oldest players?

Ferenc Puskas (39 years and 37 days)

One of the most iconic players in Madrid’s history — as much as for his backstory as for what he achieved in the Spanish capital.

Puskas starred for the Hungary team who inflicted a 6-3 defeat on England in 1953 — their first loss against foreign opposition at Wembley — and reached the following year’s World Cup final. Then, in 1956, he took advantage of a tour by his club side, Budapest’s Honved, to leave his home country after the Soviet Union quashed an attempted uprising there. World governing body FIFA subsequently imposed a two-year playing ban on Puskas at the Hungarian FA’s request.


Puskas died in 2006 at the age of 79 (Robert Stiggins/Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

That meant Puskas was 31 years old and 18kg (40lb) overweight by the time he arrived at Madrid in 1958. Not that it mattered: he soon slotted into a team who were on their way to winning the first five European Cups and earned the Spanish nickname ‘Canoncito Pum’ (roughly translated as ‘Booming Little Cannon’) for his powerful left foot.

He went on to score 242 times in 262 games for Madrid, winning five La Liga titles and three European Cups — the latter including four goals in the 7-3 win in the 1960 final against Eintracht Frankfurt at Glasgow’s Hampden Park, with his friend Alfredo Di Stefano getting the other three. “It was one of those blissful times when the whole team seemed to play brilliantly and we almost achieved some kind of footballing perfection,” he later said, as quoted in the book Puskas On Puskas.

FIFA named its award for the best goal scored anywhere worldwide in a calendar year after Puskas in 2009, three years after his death at age 79 following a battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

Paco Buyo (38 years and 63 days)

Buyo was the goalkeeper behind the team known as ‘La Quinta del Buitre’ — ‘The Vulture’s Cohort’, referring to striker Emilio Butragueno’s nickname and his fellow academy graduates Manolo Sanchis, Rafael Martin Vazquez, Michel and Miguel Pardeza.

Though he was not one of those homegrown stars, joining from Sevilla in 1986, Buyo played a key role in four of the five La Liga titles the side won in a row from 1986-90. He stood out for his speed, reflexes and unique style, often rushing out of his area to intercept passes and would even dribble past opponents after winning possession.


Buyo was at Madrid from 1986 until 1997 (Paul Marriott/EMPICS via Getty Images)

“Lots of people called me crazy… but I was ahead of my time,” he told Spanish newspaper El Mundo in 2021. “When we watch football now, who was the crazy one? Today there’s lots of praise for goalkeepers like me, but back then I was a Martian.”

He retired in 1997, after a season in which he didn’t feature at all following the arrival of German Bodo Illgner. Iker Casillas (with 725) is the only goalkeeper to have made more appearances for Madrid than Buyo’s 451, the last of which was a 2-0 La Liga win against Albacete in March 1996.

Jerzy Dudek (38 years and 59 days)

An outlier on this list, Dudek only played 12 times for Madrid after joining from Liverpool in 2007, two years after his Champions League final heroics against AC Milan in Istanbul.

“Real Madrid spoke to me when we were in Athens preparing for the Champions League final (that May, also against Milan) and I was laughing saying, ‘Don’t joke with me’,” the Polish goalkeeper told UK newspaper The Guardian in 2008. “I never thought it would be possible to join a bigger club than Liverpool, but I was wrong.”


Dudek joined Madrid from Liverpool in summer 2007 (Mike Egerton – PA Images via Getty Images)

Dudek was rarely called on as Casillas’ understudy but picked up a La Liga winner’s medal in his first season and one after the 2011 Copa del Rey final, when Madrid beat Barcelona with the clubs’ El Clasico rivalry at its fiercest.

He was given a guard of honour by his team-mates and a standing ovation by the Bernabeu crowd when he was replaced in his last senior appearance, against Almeria in May 2011.

Alfredo Di Stefano (37 years and 328 days)

Possibly the most important player in Madrid’s history.

Argentina-born Di Stefano joined the club in 1953 and helped forge their legend by inspiring those first five European Cups as well as eight La Liga titles. Nicknamed ‘La Saeta Rubia’ (The Blond Arrow), he was nominally a forward but contributed all over the pitch.

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His seven goals in European Cup finals are only matched by Puskas — Cristiano Ronaldo is the next-most prolific in Champions League/European Cup finals with four for Manchester United and Madrid — and he was the club’s record goalscorer with 308 in 396 games until Raul surpassed him in 2009 (Cristiano Ronaldo and Benzema have since overtaken the latter). Madrid’s website simply describes Di Stefano as ‘The best footballer of all time’.


Di Stefano with the five European Cups won as a Madrid player (Real Madrid via Getty Images)

Di Stefano went on to have two spells as Madrid’s manager in the 1980s and 1990s and was named an honorary president of the club, but that was small potatoes compared to his achievements as a player. When he died in 2014, aged 88, his casket was displayed at the Bernabeu.

“In 50 years, Real Madrid won two La Liga titles,” their former player, manager, sporting director and now-pundit Jorge Valdano wrote for newspaper El Pais after his death. “Alfredo arrived and, in the next 50, the club won more titles than all the Spanish teams put together. Such a solid fact doesn’t need nuance, because that’s called changing history.”

How does Modric’s record compare with the marks for the La Liga and the Champions League?

Modric has a way to go until he becomes the oldest Champions League player — that honour belongs to the Italian goalkeeper Marco Ballotta, who was 43 years and 252 days old when he played for Lazio against Real Madrid in a 3-1 group-stage defeat in December 2007.

Player Club Age at last appearance

Marco Ballotta

Lazio

43 years, 252 days

Gianluigi Buffon

Juventus

42 years, 315 days

Oleksandr Shovkovskiy

Dynamo Kyiv

41 years, 255 days

Mark Schwarzer

Chelsea

41 years, 206 days

Pepe

Porto

41 years, 15 days

He’ll have to wait even longer if he wants to become the oldest player in La Liga history: Englishman Harry Lowe was 48 when he turned out for Real Sociedad in 1935.

Oldest players in La Liga

Player Club Age at last appearance

Real Sociedad

48 years, 226 days

Real Betis

41 years, 318 days

Villarreal

41 years, 268 days

Rayo Vallecano

41 years, 213 days

Osasuna

41 years, 153 days

But there is one more record Modric will be aiming for this season — becoming the oldest player to win the Champions League. He is currently second on that list, behind Milan great Paolo Maldini, after Madrid’s triumph over Borussia Dortmund at Wembley last season.

Maldini was 38 years and 331 days old when Milan beat Liverpool in that 2007 final mentioned above. When the 2024-25 final takes place at Munich’s Allianz Stadium on May 31, Modric will be 39 years and 264 days old.

Oldest Champions League winners

Player Team Age

AC Milan

38 years, 331 days

Real Madrid

38 years, 234 days

Juventus

37 years, 46 days

AC Milan

37 years, 34 days

Inter Milan

36 years, 285 days

(Top photo: Guillermo Martinez/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)




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‘We sinned in our arrogance’ – Real Madrid’s night of reflection after Alaves close call

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Real Madrid racked up another three points with a 3-2 home La Liga victory against Alaves, but despite a blistering start, it ended up being a worrying night for Carlo Ancelotti’s side — on many counts.

It was all looking so straightforward. When Rodrygo burst clear of his marker and fired in a low drive to make it 3-0 in the 48th minute, Madrid were cruising confidently to what seemed like an easy win in the build-up to one of their season’s biggest games, when they travel to Atletico Madrid on Sunday.

In the end, the points were eventually wrapped up in a bitter and frenetic atmosphere after Alaves grabbed two late goals following sloppy Madrid play, while there was also a potential injury to Kylian Mbappe.

“The team has sinned in their arrogance,” said one dressing-room source of Madrid’s performance (speaking anonymously to protect their position, like all those cited here). “It was a huge shame.”

The night had started so well. Before the game kicked off, one image captured everyone’s attention on the Bernabeu’s giant screens — Vinicius Junior and Mbappe sitting on the stairs of the tunnel chatting as if they were in the living room at home. When Lucas Vazquez fired in an opener from Vinicius Jr’s cutback, there were 54 seconds on the clock.

Vinicius Jr’s name brought huge cheers when the Madrid line-up was announced. At the club, they think he should win the Ballon d’Or this year. Despite some in the Spanish media claiming he has not performed to his usual stellar standards so far this season, he has already been involved in nine goals (scoring three, providing six assists) in nine games in all competitions.

“Vinicius surpasses everyone, but not just us, he does it in the Champions League,” Alaves coach Luis Garcia Plaza said.

For 2-0, Jude Bellingham and Mbappe combined brilliantly. The Frenchman found Bellingham with a backheel pass and off he sped. The Englishman returned the ball on the edge of the box and Mbappe did the rest with a drop of the shoulder and a sharp finish. It was the perfect ending to a 26-pass move — the longest combination for a La Liga goal so far this season. Mbappe now has seven goals from nine matches for his new club, as well as one assist.

“The first half was good,. Football-wise, we are making progress,” said a coaching staff source of the opening 45 minutes.

After Rodrygo’s turn to shine, Madrid were heading towards their 39th consecutive game without defeat in Spain’s top flight. Barcelona hold the record with 43 unbeaten, across 2016-17 and 2017-2018. Madrid’s previous La Liga loss was 3-1 at Atletico in late September last season.


Ancelotti and Mbappe after the Frenchman was taken off (Javier Soriano/AFP via Getty Images)

There was another key milestone: Tuesday’s game was Ancelotti’s 300th on the Madrid bench (across his two spells at the club).

Endrick was brought on and almost added a fourth when his powerful deflected shot cannoned back off the post. It looked like a perfect night. Then things began to fall apart.

In the 80th minute, Ancelotti took off Mbappe and Eder Militao to bring on Arda Guler and Jesus Vallejo. Fans had been chanting for the latter to make his first appearance of the season.

The Italian coach moved closer to his new striker as he came off the pitch, checking he was OK, setting off alarm bells. There had been speculation that Mbappe would be rotated for this game, but he remained alongside Federico Valverde as the only outfield player to have started every match this season so far.

“He’s fine, he’s fine, a little bit loaded,” Ancelotti said at his post-match press conference. “He asked me to change him to avoid problems.”

However, there are concerns Mbappe might have suffered a thigh injury and he will undergo tests today (Wednesday). He is now a real doubt for that game against Atletico.

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Mbappe to be assessed ahead of Madrid derby after minor thigh problem

Within two minutes of those substitutions, Endrick lashed out at Alaves defender Santiago Mourino and somehow escaped being shown a red card. Two minutes later again, the away side got one back, Mourino’s fellow Uruguayan Carlos Benavidez curling home from outside the box.

That opportunity came from a loose Vazquez pass playing out from the back. Just one minute later, a rusty-looking Vallejo was bypassed by a ball over the top for 34-year-old ex-Middlesbrough striker Kike Garcia, who provided a fine finish. Madrid’s mood and outlook were now entirely changed. Sources in the coaching staff admitted they had not managed the changes well, including the popular acclaim for Vallejo.

Before the goals, academy centre-back Jacobo Ramon was set to make his senior debut, but Ancelotti preferred to bring on left-back Fran Garcia for Vinicius Jr in stoppage time instead. Before that, the Brazilian might have been shown a yellow card for laughing at the fourth official when he saw there would be six further minutes.

On the touchline, Militao was remonstrating angrily with the officials. So was Ancelotti, who went into the centre of the pitch immediately after the final whistle to speak to referee Alejandro Muniz Ruiz and his assistants.

“Fair or unfair, we have to adapt to the new rules,” the Italian said at his post-match press conference. He was referring to the number of yellow cards shown to his players since Spanish football’s refereeing committee announced there would be a clampdown on dissent and protest this season.


Ancelotti on the touchline on Tuesday (Diego Souto/Getty Images)

Madrid are the team with the most yellow cards in La Liga 2024-25 so far — and nine of their 16 have been shown for dissent. Over the entirety of the previous season, Madrid had just 14 yellow cards for dissent, and at this stage of it, their players had only two.

Fans chanted anti-Spanish FA songs in the stands, while the club’s official TV channel after the game referred to “trash refereeing”. There was outrage that four yellow cards were shown for seven fouls, while no Alaves player was booked despite the away side making 10 fouls.

However, in the Madrid dressing room, they did not want to think about that. The focus was on the tests for Mbappe and the weekend’s big meeting with Atletico.

“Mentally, we can’t relax like this (again) because the next one we will pay for it,” one source said. “It’s a good warning for Sunday.”

(Top photo: Javier Soriano/AFP via Getty Images)


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Real Madrid’s starting eleven against Betis

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Real Madrid have named their starting line-up for the LaLiga matchday four fixture against Betis at the Santiago Bernabéu (9:30pm CEST).

Real Madrid starting eleven:
1. Courtois
2. Carvajal
3. Militão
22. Rüdiger
23. F. Mendy
8. Valverde
14. Tchouameni
19. Ceballos
11. Rodrygo
9. Mbappé
7. Vini Jr. 

Substitutes:
13. Lunin
26. Fran González
10. Modrić
15. Arda Güler
16. Endrick
17. Lucas V.
20. Fran García
21. Brahim
31. Jacobo.


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Kylian Mbappé goals will come, Real Madrid’s Carlo Ancelotti says

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  • Alex Kirkland

  • Rodrigo Faez

Aug 25, 2024, 02:24 PM ET

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said he is not concerned about Kylian Mbappé‘s goal scoring after the forward failed to find the net for a second LaLiga game in a row.

Mbappé joined Madrid on a five-year contract this summer, and opened his account for the club in their UEFA Super Cup win against Atalanta earlier this month.

However the LaLiga champions’ 3-0 victory at the Bernabéu against Real Valladolid on Sunday saw Mbappé substituted after 86 minutes, after his second league game without scoring.

“It makes me very happy. I’ve started off at the Bernabéu winning the game and we got the three points,” Mbappé said to Real Madrid TV after the game.

“It was a great night. The fans were top. We wanted to win the first game [here]. It’s a dream playing in this stadium, but we have another game on Thursday and we want to win again.”

Midfielder Federico Valverde put Madrid ahead after half-time, and substitute Brahim Díaz added a second goal, before Mbappé’s replacement Endrick scored his first goal for the club in the 96th minute.

Speaking in his postmatch news conference, Ancelotti denied that Mbappé’s position at centre-forward — rather than starting off out wide — was limiting his ability to contribute to the team.

“No, I don’t think so at all,” Ancelotti said. “[Mbappé] is a spectacular forward, he’s very fast, he moves well without the ball.

“He had three chances. I think in that position he’ll score, as he’s always scored. I don’t think he has to play on the left or the right. He’ll score goals.”

Ancelotti also praised Endrick, who signed for Madrid this summer after turning 18.

“He looks good,” Ancelotti said. “He has great potential, and with the goal, he showed all his qualities. He has good control, and a good shot.

“He’s a penalty box forward. In small spaces, he’s very, very dangerous.”

Madrid’s win over Valladolid followed a 1-1 draw away at Real Mallorca on the opening weekend of the LaLiga season, as they look to defend their title.

The team are currently without midfielders Jude Bellingham and Eduardo Camavinga, both injured, while defender Ferland Mendy was suspended against Valladolid.

Madrid will travel to Las Palmas on Thursday, before hosting Real Betis next weekend.


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