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Marcelo sent an endearing message to Luka Modric after the Real Madrid superstar posted a photo on Instagram on his daughter's birthday.
Sofia, the youngest of Modric's two daughters, turned six on October 2 and her father made an Instagram post to commemorate the occasion. He posted a handful of photographs, including one with his family, celebrating Sofia's birthday.
The animal-themed cake had a '6' candle on top to mark the special occasion. The post, as of now, has garnered over 560,000 likes and 2,200 comments, including messages from his friends, family and teammates.
One of those was from Marcelo, with whom the Croatian superstar played at Real Madrid for 10 years until the Brazilian's exit in 2022. He wrote:
"Sosii 💜 So beautiful 😻 Happy birthday 🎉"
Modric and his wife, Vanja Bosnic, have two other children apart from Sofia. Their son, Ivano, was born in 2010 while their first daughter, Ema, was born in April 2013.
The 38-year-old is still going strong despite his age and renewed his Real Madrid contract for another season this summer. His role in Carlo Ancelotti's team, however, has reduced with the introduction of new signings and younger alternatives.
Marcelo, meanwhile, is currently playing for boyhood club Fluminense, whom he joined in February this year after terminating his contract at Olympiacos.
Carlo Ancelotti speaks on Luka Modric's situation at Real Madrid
With the emergence of Eduardo Camavinga and Aurelien Tchouameni, and the arrival of Jude Bellingham, Luka Modric's playing time was bound to decrease.
But the Croatian superstar hasn't played a single minute in either of his team's last two league games. He was an unused substitute in the 2-0 win against UD Las Palmas and the 3-0 victory over Girona.
Carlo Ancelotti, however, remains adamant that he is on good terms with the former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder. Speaking ahead of his team's UEFA Champions League group-stage match against Napoli on Tuesday (October 3), the Italian tactician said (h/t Football-Espana):
"It is quite surprising that Modric does not have the same role as in the past. He has played the first Champions League game, the derby… and he has not played the last two because there is a very strong competition.
"We have no problem with him and he doesn’t have any problems with us. Sometimes I have to make decisions that are very difficult to take."
This season, Modric has featured in seven games across competitions but started just three times.
