Could Luka Modric go to jail? 

Just months before the Croatian team was due to leave for the World Cup, which was to take place in Russia, the national team was widely despised, the federation disliked, while Luka Modric had been mocked and had become something of a pantomime villain.

The reason for the public's disrespect came down to a big corruption scandal, a court case and the name of one infamous figure: Zdravko Mamic.

Zdravko Mamić was the kingmaker of the Croatian Football. He controlled Croatia's biggest club, GNK Dinamo Zagreb. He was the executive director of Dinamo Zagreb for 13 years, before he resigned in 2016. He also had a considerable influence in the Croatian Football Association where he held an immense position. His power was spread to the judiciary and also to politics. Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović who was seen in the world cup cheering for her team admitted that Mamic helped her in her election campaign.

Dinamo Zagreb won the league 11 times in a row, and all the talent in the club were taken up by the club. There was a club called Lokomotiva who was the feeder club, otherwise known as Zagreb's farm team. Lokomotiva was allowed to play in Croatia's top division despite it was against the rules because Mamic had the power to bend the rules for them.

Zagreb then sold the biggest players in the club and it resulted into huge profits for the club. But Dejan Lovren's and Luka Modric's move to other clubs made a huge problem for Mamic.

Kolinda Grabar and Mamic.

How did he do it?

Zdravko Mamić would use his position at Dinamo and then he would sign the contract of young upcoming players early on. He put clauses into their contracts with dodgy arrangements including cuts for himself, and also provisions for a percentage on all earnings until the end of the players' career. Mamic and his son (who was the agent) were able to continue this business for years.

The Scam Gets Exposed

The scam was unveiled in 2009 when Eduardo da Silva sued him and exposed him and all his sharp practices to the world. Eduardo had claimed that he was too young to make a decision and the manager took his advantage. Eduardo won the case as well.

In 2015, Mamic was finally arrested and put on trial for tax offences which were connected to the young players' scam. The trial was taken to Osijek from Zagreb because it was heard that he could use his influential power again.

At the centre of the trial was Luka Modric. When Tottenham signed Modric for roughly 10 million euros, it transpired that Modric only received 1.7 million euros, meaning the other 80% went to Mamic.

Luka Modric in Mamic's Trial

But Luka Modric changed his statement to the police, started fumbling and then said that it was drawn later and he doesn't remember anything. The whole thing was aired on TV, and Luka Modric was widely mocked and downgraded with thousands of internet memes.

In March, he was charged with perjury (false testimony). He is facing a 5-year prison sentence. Lovren is also being investigated, but he is not charged yet. Mamic was found guilty and sentenced to 6-and-a-half years, but he fled to Bosnia.

Luka Modric just won his fourth UCL with Real Madrid and could also go down as the greatest Croatian player. He became a great public hate figure in Croatia for his false testimony. When World Cup began, some of his fans wore the shirt that read "I don't remember (ne mogu se sjetiti)".

But then Croatia started to win, and their undefeated run in the group stage helped Luka get his fans back, and by the World Cup 2018 finals, Luka had his image clean and everybody started loving him. Modric's perjury is yet to come this year, as no date has been selected yet and so could take place later this year.

Luka Modric winning the Golden Ball.

Although no one believes he would go to jail, the trial hasn't taken place yet, so the end result could truly be anyone's guess.