Luka Modric will not undergo his medical this week ahead of joining AC Milan, but the club are far from worried about the situation.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport (seen below) recall this morning, Zlatan Ibrahimovic returned to Milan at the age of 39 in January 2020 and led the team on an upward journey towards eventually winning the Scudetto in May 2022.
At the time, it was said that a young and disoriented group needed a guide. Today, when there is the same disorientation, Milan have chosen to reset in the same way: Luka Modric will arrive, also 39 years old, six Champions Leagues with Real and 2,864 minutes on the pitch in the last season.
In 2019, before taking back the role of Rossoneri leader, Ibra had played a few less minutes (2,790), but in the sun of Los Angeles. The MLS had certainly required a different mental and physical effort compared to Modric’s efforts between La Liga and the Champions League.
la gazzetta dello sport 12 june
Mutual respect
Modric will arrive at Milan, another reason why the postponement of the medical visits should not be interpreted with concern. On the contrary, the reason is the respect that Luka has for the club that welcomed him in the summer of 2012 and made him the Ballon d’Or winner in 2018.
The Croatian expressly asked that the physical tests and signature be postponed until the end of his sporting commitments with Madrid. Thus, despite Milan’s program, which had scheduled everything for yesterday in Croatia, the process was postponed until after the Club World Cup.
At that point, now a free agent, he will put his autograph on his contract with Milan, a one-year deal with an option for a second season. In this story of mutual respect, even the Rossoneri would have avoided announcing his signing during the World Cup, precisely out of reverence.
Modric has chosen Milan and Massimiliano Allegri: with one commitment per week he can guarantee a high level, even if he won’t be available with the group from the raduno but only later. It depends on how long Real’s commitments in the United States will last, followed by a well-deserved vacation.