10 greatest Real Madrid players of this century

#6 Luka Modric

Luka Modric has gained legendary status after winning 4 Champions League titles with Real Madrid

When you judge a player like Luka Modric by goals, you are very likely to underrate his overall game. The Croatia international is a complete midfielder and you don’t need numbers to realise how good he is.

When he joined Real Madrid from Tottenham in 2012, very few believed he would shine in Spain. After an underwhelming first season, many even concluded that the midfielder would be a flop.

However, Modric turned things around and became one of the key players as Los Blancos won four Champions League titles in five years, even winning the Ballon d'Or for his exploits in 2018. He is definitely a Bernabeu great and very few midfielders who have played for the Madrid giants in this century can match his impact at the club.

---

#5 Iker Casillas

Iker Casillas rose through the youth ranks to become a Madrid legend

Iker Casillas recently announced his retirement from football after playing the beautiful game for over two decades. A chunk of that period was spent at Real Madrid, where he rose through the ranks to become the club’s first-choice goalkeeper and captain.

The 38-year-old won numerous trophies at the Santiago Bernabeu and played with different generations of players. The Spaniard plied his trade in the era of Zinedine Zidane and Fernando Hierro and also played with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modric.

Not many clubs are lucky to have a goalkeeper as committed as Casillas because he was not only talented but was also a leader in every sense. He played a pivotal role in Real Madrid’s return to the top after the club's period of struggle in the mid-2000s.