Luka Modric turned 41 today, and nothing about the way he approaches his work at Milanello suggests a man counting down the days.
When Milan brought in the Croatian in 2024, the conversation was never about ability. It was about availability, about how many minutes a player approaching 40 could realistically offer a club in transition. Nearly two years on, Modric is still part of the furniture, still in the dressing room, still pushing.
According to Corriere dello Sport, the Ballon d'Or winner's defining trait at this stage is an insatiable appetite to keep competing and winning. That drive is what has kept him relevant for both Milan and Croatia's national team long past the age most midfielders have hung up their boots. The numbers on his birth certificate have changed; the mentality has not.
Genuine questions about how much Milan can lean on him going forward are fair, and they will only grow louder. But Modric's presence in the squad has always been about more than minutes on the pitch. His standards in training and his competitive edge in the dressing room carry weight that does not show up on a team sheet.
All signs point to Milan being the final club of his career, and the desire to finish on his own terms, on a high, is what continues to fuel him. Whether the legs can keep up with the will is the only question left, and Modric has spent two decades answering versions of it.