AC Milan fans will be able to continue to enjoy Luka Modric for another season, as he has decided to remain at the club.
La Gazzetta dello Sport write this morning that Modric will remain at the centre of the ‘Rossoneri universe’. A new project will emerge around him, with a coach who will seek to impose new principles, chosen by a reshaped management.
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The second chapter of his Rossoneri story will also begin differently: not from Milan as happened in the summer of 2025, but on the other side of the world, in Australia, where he will join his team-mates on tour.
Modric and Milan, by mutual agreement, have decided to exercise the annual renewal clause in the player’s contract. It will take a little more time (at least 48 hours) but everything is ready and in place – from the documentation to the social media announcements – to celebrate Luka’s stay.
The schedule will also be finalised soon. Modric is still on vacation and a stop in Milan doesn’t seem necessary. His next destination will be Australia, where he will join the team, who are departing on Sunday for Perth.
The rest of the program is evolving and will depend primarily on Amorim (with whom he is in constant communication) and his staff, who will evaluate his condition (Modric’s last appearance was on July 3 against Portugal) and determine his reintegration into the group.
Luka has always kept fit, even on beach vacation, continuing his padel (for charity) once he returns to his home in Zadar.
The reasons for staying
Modric will be a key figure for Milan in 2026-27, even without the extraordinary workload of last season. He played 2,816 minutes in his first year in Italy: another 184 minutes would have seen him reach the 3,000-minute mark, and he only did not due to a fractured cheekbone at the end of April.
Only once in his career in 25 domestic league seasons has Luka surpassed that milestone: 3,216 minutes with Tottenham in the 2011-12 Premier League campaign. This season, which begins in a month, he will be asked to make a different sacrifice.
While less physically demanding, he will still need to be a driving force, relying more heavily on his leadership qualities. The reasons pushing a 40-year-old with an incredible sporting history (he turns 41 on September 9) to another season of struggle are many and varied.
Passion stands above all. Luka proved with Milan and then at the World Cup in America that he still has the pace and the physique to battle. It’s all about the desire for redemption: he didn’t want to end his career with the disappointment of Milan missing out on the Champions League.
Furthermore, the Europa League is a trophy he can aspire to add to his impressive trophy cabinet. It was also in 2011-12 that Modric played in the tournament for his last time: two group games with Tottenham before earning a Champions League ticket.
His final decision was also influenced by his wife Vanja and children Ivano, Ema (who plays for Milan’s youth team), and Sofia, who find Milano a welcoming city and the Italian experience generally stimulating for everyone.
Modric accepted the Diavolo’s offer among other options, including a return to Dinamo Zagreb, where it all began. His loyalty to the Rossoneri is proven by his decision to stay despite losing key players like former sporting director Igli Tare and former coach Massimiliano Allegri.
The club will award him a €3.5m contract, the same amount as a year ago. In the meantime, the Croatia captain will retire from the national team after the Nations League match against Spain. The match will be played in Split on October 6th. After that, only Milan remain.
