Real Madrid star Luka Modric surprisingly picks former Barcelona star in his 5-a-side team

Real Madrid’s midfield maestro and the captain of the Croatia national football team, Luka Modric, picked his 5-a-side team. The 37-year-old made one surprising pick in his star-studded side. The team consists of players he played alongside during his stint with Real Madrid and Croatia.

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Modric picked his former Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos as the centre-back, who now plays for Paris Saint Germain (PSG). In the midfield, the 2018 Ballon d'Or winner picked his long-time midfield partner in the Spanish club and former Germany international, Toni Kroos.

The Croat picked former Wales international, Gareth Bale to play in the wings. Modric played alongside the Welshman during his stint with Tottenham until 2012 before teaming up again in Real Madrid in 2013. Bale left Real Madrid in 2022 to join Los Angeles FC in Major League Soccer (MLS) in the United States (US). He also hung up his boots earlier in the year and is now pursuing a career in golf.

Modric omits Karim Benzema from his 5-a-side team

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For the position upfront, it is a popular choice, the Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo. Modric and Ronaldo played together in Real Madrid from 2012 to 2018. Ronaldo left to Italian club Juventus in 2018 before returning to Manchester United in 2021. He left the English club before the 2022 FIFA World Cup and joined Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia.

Modric, after picking four players who played for Real Madrid, made one surprising pick. It is the former Barcelona midfielder and former Croatia international, Ivan Rakitic. Rakitic played for Real Madrid’s arch-rivals in Spain from 2014 to 2020 and for Croatia from 2007 to 2019. Rakitic and Modric were both part of the successful Croatia team that qualified for the FIFA World Cup final in 2018 in Russia.

“Ramos, Cristiano, Kroos, Bale and I would say Rakitic because I can’t have all Real Madrid, but of course Casemiro and Benzema too,” said Modric, who was quoted as saying by Madrid Xtra. It is no surprise that his team is dominated by Real Madrid players given the amount of success the Spanish giants have had over the last decade. During 2013-2022, they won five UEFA Champions League and also produced multiple Ballon d’Or winners with Ronaldo Modric and Benzema.