The Real Madrid midfielder's involvement at Swansea has already had a big impact
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Bale and Modric have spent years as teammates both in London and Madrid. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
Bale and Modric spent years as teammates both in London and Madrid
The dust has just about settled, but the surrealism of this episode doesn't appear to have waned one iota.
News of Luka Modric, Real Madrid's most decorated player ever, getting involved in Swansea City still feels a little, well, preposterous. But the sight of the 39-year-old holding a Swansea branded ball, talking about his excitement at getting involved, has served as a useful reminder that all of this isn't just some sort of fever dream,
For what it's worth, those close to the deal claim that of all the ventures outside of his playing career, this is the one he is most excited about. Sign up to the Swansea City WhatsApp service to get breaking news and top stories sent to your phone
The size of his stake isn't yet known, but it clearly won't be large enough for the Ballon d'or winner to have any sort of meaningful say on the day-to-day running of the club.
Instead, this is largely seen as a chance for Modric to learn the ropes of football club ownership and, at the same time, bring the sort of footballing expertise Swansea have been crying out for in recent years.
Both parties understandably feel they stand to benefit, and the impact of his arrival is clearly already being felt.
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Swedish winger Zeidane Inoussa recently admitted he'd had conversations with the midfielder before becoming the club's first signing of the summer, and it's understood he's not the only one to have spoken to the 2018 World Cup finalist.
Several other potential new recruits are believed to have held talks with Modric, who has also made himself available to speak to any current players that may potentially be thinking about a possible departure this summer.
Whether he's consulted Harry Darling, who continues to ponder a potential new deal at the club amid interest from Wrexham and Birmingham City, isn't yet clear.
Nevertheless, Modric's involvement potentially gives the club an added edge in negotiations with players.
How Modric buying into Swans came about
The ground work for the deal to seal his stake was completed long before it was actually announced. Indeed, it can be traced back several years to when Luka was approached by Legends, a clothing brand in America that was seeking fresh investment to help take it to the next level.
The brand produced a collection for the midfielder in 2018, but Modric's camp, after much pondering, decided not to invest in the company itself.
Luka Modric and Scott Hochstadt, the owner of Legends(Image: Instagram: @scott_hochstadt)
Nevertheless, they maintained a really strong relationship with the company's co-founder Scott Hochstadt, and it's that link that would later prove crucial.
Legends took off, and attracted a number of other big-name investors including professional athletes and hip-hop stars like Baker Mayfield, Quavo, Steve Nash, and Larry Nance Jnr.
Hochstadt subsequently moved into one of the most exclusive neighbourhoods in Los Angeles where, it's claimed, he would end up having two notable neighbours.
One was Chelsea's owner Todd Boehly. The other? None other than current Swans owner Brett Cravatt.
Cravatt completed a move to take a majority shareholding in the club back in December, and has been keen on raising the profile of the Swans on the global stage ever since.
It's understood he sent feelers around to try and bring a celebrity investor on board - one capable of heightening attention around the club and potentially magnifying its commercial potential.
Hochstadt got wind of Cravatt's intentions and, knowing Modric was potentially interested in getting into football club ownership, introduced him to the player's representatives.
After initial conversations, both camps sensed an opportunity.
Modric's representatives would later make a visit to Swansea's training ground and would hold talks with CEO Tom Gorringe and director of football Richard Montague. The Croatian found himself suitably impressed by the vision laid out for the club, with the prospect of getting back to the Premier League a key part of the pitch.
While there's an acceptance it could take a few years, Modric is understood to have been convinced that a return to the top flight is an achievable aim.
While he was pondering over a potential deal, sources claim the midfielder even sought out the advice of close pal Gareth Bale.
Bale obviously has connections with arch rivals Cardiff City, but is understood to have been supportive Modric's involvement with the Swans, believing it to be beneficial to the overall footballing landscape in Wales.
His efforts to help raise the profile of Welsh football were often seen by some in Spain to be at the expense of club Real Madrid, which subsequently caused relations between Bale and fans at the Bernabeu to publicly and spectacularly break down. Sign up to our Swansea City newsletter here
There's unsurprisingly an awareness that Modric may create a similar problem for himself if he's seen to be too heavily involved with the Swans, meaning he will likely look to keep a reasonably low profile for the foreseeable future.
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He remains keen on extending his playing career, and there's some hope that a new one-year extension can be agreed soon, although replacing manager Carlo Ancelotti with the incoming Xabi Alonso has clearly complicated matters.
Resolving his immediate future as a player certainly appears the most pressing priority right now, but once that episode has been concluded, it's possible we may see and hear a bit more from the former Tottenham star. There's already a hope that he may well pay the club a visit over the coming months.
It's probably worth pointing out that the prospect of him one day pulling on a Swans shirt himself feels hugely unlikely, but the hope is that his impact behind the scenes will be enough to help propel the club back to the promised land of the Premier League.