‘No official negotiations’ – Real Madrid respond to Luka Modric exit rumours
The 38-year-old is in the final year of his deal but wants more regular game time
Real Madrid’s Ballon d’Or-winning midfielder Luka Modric will not be the next major star to head to Saudi Arabia.
That is according to the Spanish club’s CEO Jose Angel Sanchez, who has responded to recent speculation around the Croatian’s future.
Modric is in the final year of his contract at the Bernabeu and was linked with an exit after saying earlier in October that he “wants to play” amid reduced game time under Carlo Ancelotti.
A move to the Saudi Pro League, where the likes of Karim Benzema, Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo ply their trade, was mooted.
But Sanchez shot down those rumours.
"There are no official negotiations on the part of Saudi League officials to include Luca during next January, and we have no idea about his departure from the team at the present time,” he said to Goal.
Modric has made 10 appearances this season but only half of them have come from the start after Jude Bellingham’s arrival increased competition for places in midfield.
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The Ballon d’Or winner turned 38 in September but said he feels “physically well” and wants to feature “if necessary every three days.”
Modric joined Real from Tottenham Hotspur in 2012 and has won three La Liga titles and five Champions League crowns among other honours during an illustrious spell.
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Alasdair Mackenzie is a freelance journalist based in Rome, and a FourFourTwo contributor since 2015. When not pulling on the FFT shirt, he can be found at Reuters, The Times and the i. An Italophile since growing up on a diet of Football Italia on Channel 4, he now counts himself among thousands of fans sharing a passion for Ross County and Lazio.