Luka Modric, the 37-year-old Croatian footballer, is being hailed as one of the greatest players to ever grace the game. He continues to dominate on the pitch, and his impressive performance in this season's UEFA Champions League is a testament to that.
Alongside legendary midfielders such as Andres Iniesta, Xavi, Andrea Pirlo, and Zinedine Zidane, Modric is celebrated as one of the all-time greats.
Rio Ferdinand, is also a huge admirer of Modric's abilities. Ferdinand recently ranked Modric among the top three midfielders of all time, further cementing his status as a footballing icon.
When asked to choose between Modric and Andrea Pirlo, Ferdinand said: "Modric. When you talk about the best midfielders ever, Pirlo does not really come into the conversation. It’s Xavi, Iniesta, and Modric."
Rio Ferdinand had also tried to get Modric to sign for Manchester United before the Croat left for Madrid.
"But Modric, I remember speaking to him, I said, 'Are you leaving [Tottenham]?' and he said, 'Yeah, I think I’m going to go', but he wasn’t sure at the time where he was going," the former United centre-back said, as quoted by Metro.
"I said, 'Listen, you’ve got to come to United, man' and he said, 'Yeah, listen, I want to be the first Croatian to play for Man United, I want to be that guy, can we make it happen?'"
"But it didn’t happen. I spoke to David Gill and the manager [Sir Alex] at the time had already agreed with Shinji Kagawa."
