Ilkay Gundogan has praised Real Madrid ‘magician’ Luka Modric as a flag-bearer for midfield players around the world ahead of their big Champions League showdown this week.
At the age of 36, former Tottenham star Modric is chasing his fifth Champions League crown and represents a major threat to Manchester City in their semi-final first leg at the Etihad on Tuesday.
Gundogan, who plays a similar creative anchor role in Pep Guardiola’s team, is particularly impressed with how the Croatian broke through Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo’s domination to be voted the best player in the world after leading his country to the World Cup final in 2018.