Real Madrid News
Modric likens the Croatian national team to Real Madrid: “Fight until the end”
Four years ago, Croatia shocked the footballing community when they made it as far as the finals of the FIFA World Cup 2018 in Russia.
Led by Real Madrid superstar Luka Modric, the Vatreni are at it once again as they have reached the semi-finals, toppling tournament favourites Brazil along the way.
Despite having won just one of their five matches in regulation time at the World Cup, Croatia have shown incredible determination and mental fortitude to come through two penalty shootouts in Qatar so far and they will next face Lionel Messi’s Argentina in the semi-finals.
Ahead of the blockbuster encounter, Modric spoke with El Chiringuito in an interview, during which he compared Croatia’s fighting spirit and never-give-up attitude to that of Real Madrid.
Los Blancos have made it a habit of coming out on top from unlikely situations and made several comebacks throughout their UEFA Champions League-winning campaign last season.
And Modric sees some similarities in the attitude and spirit of his club and national team, as he said: “Yes, sure. We can say it. Real Madrid’s DNA is to fight until the end, always. You never give up. It’s the same [with Croatia].”
Modric was the best player at the World Cup in Russia four years ago. Four years later, he is still putting up brilliant performances for Croatia, with the likes of Josko Gvardiol and Dominik Livakovic also stepping up in huge ways for Zlatko Dalic’s side.
Having already eliminated Brazil for the tournament, Modric and Croatia will look to repeat the feat when they face off against Argentina in the coming days.
Marco Asensio is fighting for his future at Real Madrid. The 27-year-old winger is out of contract at the end of the season and there is no concrete decision made by the club over his renewal as of yet.
Some reports had suggested that the club had tabled an offer worth €4 million per year, which the Spaniard did not like as he sought a higher pay packet closer to around €6 million-a-year.
With his future a subject of intense speculation, Asensio had been linked with a move away to Premier League clubs such as Arsenal and Liverpool.
Meanwhile, closer to home, there were strong links to Real Madrid’s arch-rivals Barcelona. Indeed, the Catalans have been touted as potential suitors for Asensio for quite some time now due to the fact that he is represented by Jorge Mendes.
The superagent has close ties with Barcelona president Joan Laporta and reports in Spain have suggested that the Real Madrid winger has, indeed, been offered to the current La Liga leaders.
Amidst these speculations, however, Asensio has seemingly made it clear as to where his heart lies as he awaits a decision on his future.
During last night’s El Clasico against Barcelona, the Real Madrid winger came on as a substitute and went on to score a goal, following which he celebrated at Camp Nou, pointing to the Real Madrid logo on his shirt, showing where his allegiances lie.
The goal, however, was disallowed by the VAR, and Los Blancos ended up losing the game 2-1 thanks to a stoppage-time winner by Franck Kessie.
Earlier today, Asensio took to Instagram and posted a picture of him celebrating with his finger pointing to the Real Madrid logo, reiterating his commitment to the club amidst the links to Barcelona.
As for his disallowed goal, it sparked an angry reaction from Carlo Ancelotti, who questioned the legitimacy of the decision made by the VAR during his post-match press conference.
