According to the latest Serie A transfer news, Croatian international midfielder Luka Modrić is reportedly set to sign for AC Milan at the age of 39.
Modrić will, therefore, be closing the longest chapter of his footballing career by swapping Real Madrid and Estadio Santiago Bernabeu for I Rossoneri and San Siro.
It is no secret that Modrić became one of Real Madrids best midfielders during his 13 years at the club.
He succeeded in winning everything possible with them and produced some outstanding midfield performances.
However, after this long period of success, it was crucial to know when to step back for a new challenge.
The confidence and determination to continue playing at the highest level deserve praise, as they highlight the player’s consistency, professionalism, and motivation to make significant contributions to football, even at the age of 39.
Many consider that such a move could be risky for Milan due to Modrić’s age.
Nevertheless, Milan are believed to urgently need someone like Modrić, who can organise their midfield and use his expertise to benefit the team.
This tactical analysis and scout report will examine Modrić’s recent form, playmaking, and goalscoring to assess how he can still contribute to Milans success.
The analysis will also shed light on Modrić’s possible roles within AC Milan tactics and where Massimiliano Allegri can use him in his lineup.
Luka Modrić Positions & Possible Roles At AC Milan
Modrić’s career started early in Croatia when he was 16 years old.
He joined Dinamo Zagreb and played for them until 2008, with two loans to Zrinjski Mostar and Inter Zaprešić.
His remarkable impact at Dinamo Zagreb attracted the interest of the Premier League’s Tottenham Hotspur, who signed him in 2008.
Even though Modrić had a hard time integrating Tottenham’s starting lineup and getting accustomed to their playing style at first, he quickly became a key player for Spurs, playing as a central midfielder and sometimes as a playmaker.
He was capable of silencing all the voices who criticised him while basing their arguments on his height and lack of physical strength.
As the years went by, he succeeded in demonstrating and confirming that he is a powerful midfielder who can withstand physical pressure and is very tough to beat in duels, even when using physical tactics.
Additionally, his intelligence, vision, passing skills, dribbling and body feints mastery and ability to anticipate opponents’ next moves made it obvious to everyone that Modrić is one of the best midfielders on the footballing scene.
In 2012, Modrić moved to Real Madrid, where he won everything possible and established an even broader reputation as one of the most entertaining midfielders of all time.
His ability to adapt to numerous roles and positions is genuinely outstanding.
Under the management of numerous managers, Modrić was able to assume various roles, including deep-lying midfielder, central midfielder, right or left midfielder, and advanced playmaker.
Luka Modrić Heat Map & Positions Graphic
Although the following positional graphic indicates that Modrić has been playing predominantly as a right central midfielder recently, it would be unfair to state that Modrić cannot be at his best when playing in another midfield position.
He proved on numerous occasions that he can give more than 100% in each midfield position.
Limiting his traits to a defensive midfield position would be unfair for a player with Modrić’s playmaking and attacking talent.

The current Milan squad is remarkably lacking in quality midfielders, and Modrić will represent the solution to this lack of creativity and key passing failure, especially following the expected departure of Tijjani Reijnders to Manchester City as of this writing.
Reijnders was Milan’s most creative midfielder in 2024/2025.
Modrić


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