00:00Luka!
00:03Luka!
00:05Luka!
00:06Luka!
00:07Luka showed us that it's easy to play.
00:12Believe me, it's really, really hard to play football.
00:15To play World Cup, it's even harder.
00:18And he plays like it's normal.
00:23It's like a dance for him.
00:26The individual star of Russia 2018 did not finish with a winner's medal.
00:32But Luka Modric demonstrated the range of passing and control of tempo
00:36that earned him the nickname The Puppet Master.
00:40Luka Modric carried Croatia almost single-handedly to the World Cup.
00:44The Croatian captain was a deserved winner of the competition's golden ball
00:49for his pivotal role, guiding his side all the way to the World Cup final.
00:55It came as no surprise when, soon afterwards,
00:59he ended Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's ten-year Ballon d'Or duopoly.
01:07It's a great honour and I am very happy after receiving this great award.
01:13I've worked hard to be where I am today.
01:19This year has been fantastic.
01:22It wasn't just one of the best.
01:24It was the best of my life and my career.
01:29I have won a lot with Real Madrid.
01:31And with Croatia, I reached the World Cup final.
01:34And also, I won a lot of individual awards, like this one.
01:38So this year is just unforgettable.
01:40I will remember it forever.
01:47This was peak Messi and Ronaldo,
01:50which just goes to show how incredible Modric was at the World Cup
01:53and for Real Madrid.
01:55Four years later, Modric was at it again,
01:58winning the bronze ball for the tournament's third best player
02:01after leading Croatia to third place.
02:04For me, it's always most important, the team.
02:09And I would change, of course, all my individual trophies
02:13for that trophy and World Cup champion.
02:17He is an unlikely superstar.
02:19Although a standout in Bosnia, then Croatia,
02:23he was an understated footballer,
02:25not the eye-catching creative force he would become.
02:28Modric was a star at Spurs.
02:30They didn't really know how to get the best out of him at first,
02:33often playing him off the left side.
02:35But they eventually moved him inside
02:37and started to see his true potential.
02:39But really, for the Premier League,
02:41he was too much of a craftsman
02:42and too subtle for English football in general.
02:46His profile grew at Tottenham Hotspur,
02:49then transformed following a 2012 move to Real Madrid.
02:53But not immediately for the better.
02:56During his first season in the Spanish capital,
02:59a marker newspaper poll saw fans single out Modric
03:02as La Liga's worst signing.
03:06Things quickly changed.
03:09I think he's been performing for the last ten years
03:14at his best level.
03:16And for him to take his team to the World Cup final
03:19is quite a big achievement.
03:21I like this kind of story and if he wins the Ballon d'Or,
03:24I think it will be everything but deserved.
03:30At Real, Ronaldo's goal-scoring feats hogged the headlines
03:33and Madridistas adored the leadership of Sergio Ramos.
03:37But it was Modric who knitted everything together
03:40and made the team tick as his side hoovered up
03:42multiple UEFA Champions League titles.
03:48I'm happier than ever.
03:50I've always enjoyed playing football.
03:53I love football.
03:54I love what I do.
03:56And especially now, because you never know
03:58for how much longer you can last at this high level.
04:01I'm doing everything in my power to keep myself here
04:04for a few more years.
04:07I make an effort because there's nothing better for me
04:10than being a Real Madrid player.
04:16Boasting the technique, tempo and temperament
04:19of the quintessential modern midfielder,
04:22Luka Modric has earned his place as one of the very best
04:25on football's greatest stage.
04:28Luka!
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