It has echoes of the saga that led to Dimitar Berbatov’s departure to Manchester United. He too, pushed and pushed until his relationship with the club was broken.
For the Croatian, he would do well to learn from Berbatov’s experience. The Bulgarian found himself an outcast at Old Trafford, unwanted despite tending to produce when on the field of play. A back up player who has fallen behind every half decent striker to have shown up at Manchester United since, he must regret the day he decided to quit Tottenham.
Modric faces the same pitfall too. Of course Real Madrid and Manchester United are not the same though when it comes to this type of situation. Real are far worse .This is a team which last season bought Nuri Sahin, the best player in the previous year’s Bundesliga, from then champions Borussia Dortmund. He has barely played. They also stock up talented youngsters like there is no tomorrow, but the likes of Sergio Canales barely get a look in. The same can be said of Esteban Granero, Jose Callejon and Pedro Leon.
This demonstrates how Real have developed a habit of this in recent times, signing players of huge promise and ability and then barely using them. Instead they end up as fancy adornments on the side of their expensively assembled squad. It is the sign of a club perhaps who are looking mainly to prevent other teams from getting star players. It is a scattergun approach and the Tottenham man is just the latest target .So, just where will Modric fit in at Real?
On the face of it he may be in a better position than most. Last year it was Sami Khedira and Xabi Alonso who played behind Mesut Ozil in the midfield. Modric would surely be an upgrade on Khedira, though the German’s talents should not be underestimated. But he will add another aspect to their play, another option in the absence of one of the main two players, or even as a first choice ahead of either.
But it is a trap to which Modric should be wary. It is all so easy to move to Real, seduced by the history and glamour of one of the world’s biggest and most historic clubs, and the famous theatre that is the Santiago Bernabeu. It is another thing altogether fitting in and making your mark on the first team.
Modric will find this the big challenge in Madrid. Undoubtedly he has the talent, he has been one of the best players in the Premier League in recent seasons and could fit into any team in the world. But Real have more stars than anyone else, and that is why so many go there, fail and leave with their careers derailed. That is the perpetual danger for new signings at the Bernabeu.
