Born on 9 September, 1985 in Zadar, Croatia. His father Stipe Modric was an aeromechanic and his mother Jasminka Modric was a textile worker. Due to the outbreak of war in Croatia in 1991 Modric had to flee his home with his family. His grandfather and many other were killed in the war. Modric fled his home and started living in Zadar, a hotel. Most of his childhood was spent there. It was there that Modric started playing football with some of the other refugee children. His family earned a very less money but still Modric was enrolled in a school and a football academy. He started training with a local trainer but wasn't selected by the local club Hajduk for being too skinny. But Dinamo Zagreb saw the talent in him and signed him in 2001.
Due to the financial incapability of his family his father constructed knee guards of wood for him. He, however, continued to play good football and was signed by Zagreb and later loaned to Zrinjski Mostar where he excelled as a skilled player in the midfield. He performed so well that he was awarded the Bosnian and Herzegovinian League Player of the Year in the first season itself. The next season he was extended out to Inter Zapreši? where he helped them finish 2nd in the league.He was awarded the Croatian football hope of the year in 2004.
In 2005 he was permanently signed by Zagreb on a 10-year contract. In the first season itself, he helped them win the league scoring goals and a host of assists. After winning the league and leading Dinamo to the UEFA cup Modric decided to switch to Tottenham Hotspur.
Tottenham announced the signing of Luka Modric on 26 April 2008. At first, he took some time to adjust to the physicality of Premier League but once he got his form he was unstoppable. In his next season, he faced a calf injury and was out for 6 weeks. Modric came back strong and scored a goal in the first comeback match itself. His form caught the attention of many great clubs like Chelsea, and Real Madrid but the chairman of Spurs team did not allow any transfer to happen.
On 27 august, 2012, however, Real Madrid came calling and it could be really impossible to turn down a club like Real Madrid, so he joined them. The transfer fee was estimated to be around $40 million. It was very tough for him to get into the first team.
Modric, however, performed whenever he got chances and came to the first team after Real sold DiMaria to Manchester United. Since then he has been an integral part of the Real Madrid team. He wears the jersey number 19 and with a height of 5ft 9in his center of gravity is very low so he plays as a playmaker.
He married his current wife Vanja Bosni? in May 2010 whom he dated for 4 years. He lives a very simple life with his wife and his 2 children in Madrid. With and age of 30 years he still has some years left and some trophies to add to his bio. His net worth is estimated to be around $7.5 million. His biography can be read on the Wikipedia.
| Net Worth 2021: | 75 million |
