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What's the rumour?
Real Madrid are reportedly confident that 2018 Ballon d'Or winner Luka Modric will stay at the club and are set to offer the midfielder a new contract.
In case you didn't know...
Modric recently capped off an incredible year for himself, having won the treble of individual awards in recognition of his role in Real Madrid's UEFA Champions League win last summer and his leadership in Croatia's incredible journey to the finals of the FIFA World Cup last year.
The 33-year-old broke Lionel Messi's and Cristiano Ronaldo's duopoly over individual awards winning the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year award, the FIFA Best Men’s Player of the Year and the coveted Ballon d'Or.
Modric was heavily linked with a move away from the Bernabeu in recent months, with Inter Milan as the favourites to get his signature. This was, of course, until their move for the midfielder was thwarted.
The heart of the matter
A report in AS now claims that the Los Blancos outfit is willing to extend Modric's contract with the club for another one or two seasons. The midfielders current contract is due to expire on 30 June 2020.
The new contract will also come with a pay rise for Modric, who has reportedly realised that he would have not achieved so much if he was playing at another club.
The publication added that the Ballon d'Or winner remains one of Florentino Perez's favourite players and together with the board members, the club president wishes to see the Croat retire at the Bernabeu.
Rumour rating: 7/10
Modric has already made his intentions of staying at Madrid clear, stating that he would even like to extend his stay for longer than his contract allows him to. It appears that if the club chooses to offer the midfielder a contract extension, he will not hesitate to sign it.
What's next?
Real Madrid will hope to avenge last year's embarrassing Clasico defeat to Barcelona when they face their longstanding rivals in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final tomorrow.
