Modric reveals the condition of his stay with Madrid

In the words he wrote as a 10-year-old schoolboy, Luka Modric reveals the tragedy that shaped his character: 'The Chetniks killed my dear grandpa. I loved him so much. Everyone cried, and I just couldn't understand that he was no more. Croatian Luka Modric, Real Madrid's midfielder, confirmed that his only condition for continuing and renewing his contract with the royal team is that he not stay with Meringue because of his achievements and championships in the past years. Despite there being a lot of speculations and talks of lucrative offers from Saudi Arabia, it was never in doubt that Modric would sign a new contract with Real Madrid. Eventually, that is what happened as the 37-year-old penned a one-year deal with the Merengues, prolonging his stay at the Santiago Bernabeu until 2024. In a recent interview with Sportske Novosti. Modric revealed how his contract renewal came about earlier this year, saying: “There are no disputes before and after the signing of the contract. Especially not from my side. Real expressed their wish to continue in spring, and I had the same wish. We sat down and quickly agreed. “That’s how it has been with Real for 12 years and it can’t be changed. Our relationship is extraordinary.” Despite having renewed his contract, Modric has found game-time hard to come by this season, starting just one of Real Madrid’s four matches thus far. When asked about his feelings on the matter, he said: “First of all, it’s about how both the club and me, i.e. the coach and I, had clear conversations and agreements. “My only condition for staying was to be treated as a competitive player, as I have been so far, and not to be kept in the squad on past merits. It was my wish that all players had the same starting position and that they could fight for their place.”“Just like from the first day at Real. That belief that they can contribute to the team is solid and based on the matches. I wanted to stay and when the club and the coach said that nothing would change in my status, I signed,” he added. However, Modric did accept that he was not entirely happy with his situation but was not going to mope about the lack of game time, saying: “Nobody is happy when they are out of the game. After all in my career, where I’m not sure I’ve ever been on the bench for three games in a row, I found that feeling especially strange. But hey, the coach had decided so for his reasons. I certainly won’t sink or slump because of it.” “I spoke to Ancelotti recently and at his initiative. We have had a very good relationship since his first term, as well as in this current one. I am completely calm, aware that I have to work myself as I have done so far and that sooner or later everything will fall into place. On his future, Modric stated that he would see how things go for him in the remainder of the season before assessing his options. “We’ll see how things develop in the remainder of the year. The most important thing is the interest of the team and I will act in that direction, as always. If it turned out that I was no longer important, then I would think about what to do next,” he said. “I repeat, I did not stay for the sake of staying, but I want to play and enjoy football, like every day since I arrived at this fantastic club.”  “We were together a lot, we won a lot and we rejoiced, these are special relationships, connected forever.” Modric continued, "I am a lucky man with my family, which is all my life enjoying football to the fullest with Croatia and Real Madrid, and above all with the same passion that made me continue since my childhood with the ball."