00:00Luka!
00:03Luka!
00:04Luka!
00:05Luka!
00:05Luka showed us that it's easy to play.
00:10Believe me, it's really, really hard to play football.
00:13To play World Cup, it's even harder.
00:16And he plays like it's normal.
00:21It's like a dance for him.
00:24The individual star of Russia 2018 did not finish with a winner's medal.
00:30But Luka Modric demonstrated the range of passing and control of tempo
00:34that earned him the nickname The Puppet Master.
00:38Luka Modric carried Croatia almost single-handedly to the World Cup.
00:42The Croatian captain was a deserved winner of the competition's golden ball
00:47for his pivotal role, guiding his side all the way to the World Cup final.
00:54It came as no surprise when, soon afterwards,
00:57he ended Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's ten-year Ballon d'Or duopoly.
01:05It's a great honour, and I am very happy after receiving this great award.
01:11I've worked hard to be where I am today.
01:17This year has been fantastic.
01:20It wasn't just one of the best.
01:22It was the best of my life and my career.
01:27I have won a lot with Real Madrid.
01:29And with Croatia, I reached the World Cup final.
01:32And also, I won a lot of individual awards like this one.
01:36So this year is just unforgettable.
01:38I will remember it forever.
01:46This was peak Messi and Ronaldo,
01:48which just goes to show how incredible Modric was at the World Cup and for Real Madrid.
01:53Four years later, Modric was at it again, winning the bronze ball for the tournament's third best player after leading
02:00Croatia to third place.
02:02For me, it's always most important, the team.
02:07And I would change, of course, all my individual trophies for that trophy and World Cup champion.
02:15He is an unlikely superstar.
02:17Although a standout in Bosnia, then Croatia, he was an understated footballer,
02:23not the eye-catching creative force he would become.
02:26Modric was a star at Spurs.
02:28They didn't really know how to get the best out of him at first, often playing him off the left
02:32side.
02:33But they eventually moved him inside and started to see his true potential.
02:37But really, for the Premier League, he was too much of a craftsman and too subtle for English football in
02:42general.
02:44His profile grew at Tottenham Hotspur, then transformed following a 2012 move to Real Madrid.
02:51But not immediately for the better.
02:54During his first season in the Spanish capital, a marker newspaper poll saw fans single out Modric as La Liga's
03:02worst signing.
03:04Things quickly changed.
03:07I think he's been performing for the last ten years at his best level.
03:14And for him to take his team to the World Cup final is quite a big achievement.
03:19I like this kind of story.
03:20And if he wins the Ballon d'Or, I think it will be everything but deserved.
03:28At Real, Ronaldo's goal-scoring feats hogged the headlines and Madridistas adored the leadership of Sergio Ramos.
03:35But it was Modric who knitted everything together and made the team tick as his side hoovered up multiple UEFA
03:41Champions League titles.
03:46I'm happier than ever. I've always enjoyed playing football. I love football. I love what I do.
03:54And especially now, because you never know for how much longer you can last at this high level.
04:00I'm doing everything in my power to keep myself here for a few more years.
04:05I make an effort because there's nothing better for me than being a Real Madrid player.
04:14Boasting the technique, tempo and temperament of the quintessential modern midfielder,
04:20Luka Modric has earned his place as one of the very best on football's greatest stage.
04:26Luka!
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