Luka Modrić Compares Milan to Real Madrid: "They're on the Same Level, When You Come Here You Understand It"

There's a line that sums up the moment well: Luka Modrić is three weeks away from turning 40 and he's still talking about "hunger" and "passion" as if he'd just made his debut. That's no small thing coming from someone who has already played five World Cups with Croatia and spent 13 seasons winning everything at Real Madrid.

His home now is Milan, and the Croatian holds nothing back when comparing the two. In an interview with the club's official channels, Modrić put his new team almost on the same level as the one he left behind: "You can see that people talk about Milan in a different way than they do about other clubs. I played for Real Madrid, which is the biggest club in the world, but my feeling is that Milan is on the same level. When you come here, you understand it," he said.

Coming from a player with his résumé, someone who lifted the Champions League and won the Ballon d'Or at the Bernabéu, that kind of statement carries weight. It probably says more about the affection he's received in Milan than it does about a strictly footballing comparison. But the message was clear: he feels at home.

The Decision to Keep Going at 40

Modrić also opened up about why he decided to extend his career for another year, something that isn't common at his age in a league as demanding as Serie A. According to him, it all came down to listening to himself rather than any outside pressure:

"I knew I wanted to continue. I wanted to listen to and feel my body, see how I felt and whether I still had the same hunger and passion to keep playing football"Luka Modrić

And when it comes to the passage of time, far from hiding from it, he turns it into fuel: "I know everyone brings up my age, and that there are players 20 years younger than me, but that kind of thing makes me feel younger," he said, making it clear that the number on paper matters little to him when it comes to still competing.

The affection from the fans also came up. "The love I felt from everyone was incredible: the fans, on the streets, in the media, everywhere. All you want is to represent Milan in the best way possible," added the midfielder, who played for Tottenham and Dinamo Zagreb before arriving in Italy.

Last Season's Lingering Sting

Not everything was nostalgia. Modrić was candid about how the previous campaign ended, with Milan finishing in fifth place in Serie A and missing out on the Champions League: "Frustration is the word I'd use to describe the last match, because we were doing well. Up until March we were in the title race. We didn't manage to qualify for the Champions League, but the atmosphere and the connection were very positive aspects, we respect each other a lot," he explained.

With that mix of frustration over what wasn't achieved and confidence in the group, Rúben Amorim's Milan kicks off the new Serie A season this Sunday away to Torino, with an eye on fighting for the club's twentieth league title.