Modric could have been a Man Utd legend, claims Ferdinand

Stuart Telford

• 18 Dec 2022 09:22 GMT
• 3 min read

Real Madrid superstar Luka Modric has inspired Croatia to a third-place finish in his final World Cup, but he came close to playing his club football for Manchester United according to Rio Ferdinand.

Modric has spent the last 10 years of his career turning out for Real following his €35 million arrival from Tottenham Hotspur in August 2012.

His achievements since have been spectacular. Modric has won five Champions Leagues with los Blancos, and broke the Lionel Messi/Cristiano Ronaldo duopoly on the Ballon d'Or in 2018 after leading Croatia to the World Cup final the same season he was crowned European champion at club level yet again.

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But it could have been so different had Ferdinand, then a world class centre-back with Man Utd and England, got his way.

What did Ferdinand say?

"Modric, I remember speaking to him, I said, 'Are you leaving [Tottenham]?' and he said, 'Yeah, I think I'm going to go' but he wasn't sure at the time where he was going," he told his FIVE YouTube show.

"I said, 'Listen, you've got to come to United, man' and he said, 'Yeah, listen, I want to be the first Croatian to play for Man United, I want to be that guy, can we make it happen?'

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"But it didn't happen. I spoke to David Gill and the manager [Sir Alex Ferguson] at the time had already agreed with Shinji Kagawa I think it was - I think that was the year, I'm sure it was.

"Or they already had irons in the fire with another player and they did that deal and then Modric went to Madrid and the rest is history.

"But I never imaged he'd go on to do what he's done. What a player!"

Speculation is growing that Modric could hang up his boots at the end of the season. The 37-year-old is still performing at a high level, but he has youthful competition from Aurelien Tchouameni, Federico Valverde and Eduardo Camavinga in his position, and Real remain intent to add Jude Bellingham to their ranks next summer.