Real Madrid veteran set to leave in summer - Reports

Real Madrid veteran midfielder Luka Modric is reportedly set to leave at the end of the season.

Modric, 38, has been a solid performer for Los Blancos since arriving from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 2012. The 2018 Ballon d'Or winner has contributed 38 goals and 82 assists in 512 games across competitions.

This season, the Croatian - who's in the final six months of his contract - has contributed one goal and six assists in 24 games across competitions but has started just 14 times. The only goal came in the 4-1 La Liga win at home to Villarreal, where he also bagged an assist.

Madrid Xtra has reported that Modric will not extend his stay at the Santiago Bernabeu, bringing the curtains down on an eventful 12-year stint.

He has won three La Liga and five UEFA Champions League titles with Real Madrid. Last weekend, he won the Spanish Super Cup, where Los Blancos beat their arch-rivals Barcelona 4-1 in the Riyadh final, dethroning the defending champions.

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Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos responds to boos in Supercopa games

Toni Kroos

Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos faced boos during the Supercopa games in Saudi Arabia last week for his previous comments.

He had criticised young players for heading to the Kingdom, sacrificing their development for the lure of money. The German said in his podcast Einfach mal Luppen (as per Marca) that he didn't expect the boos, as he had made the comments long back, but found them 'funny':

"I didn't expect it at all, I didn't even think it was for me. "The background is that I don't think it's good for young players to come into the league and give up the development, the big games, the high levels in Europe, which they could certainly play, instead of the money in the Saudi Arabian league.

"That was my statement at the time, and it was about half a year ago now, for me it was already forgotten. ... I can say, from the bottom of my heart, that it didn't bother me or affect my way of playing, on the contrary, it was quite funny."

He had said in August last year:

"It's an incredibly bad model for many young players where the motivation is money. That's also the real problem in football development, when at that age you decide exclusively for money. It's a difficult issue.

"I think it's a shame for anyone who, at the best age of football, gives up the idea of the sport. For me, that's just not a good role model and a danger to football in the future."

Real Madrid won the Supercopa, beating defending champions Barcelona 4-1 in the final in Riyadh on Sunday (January 14).