It's now been eight years since Luka Modric's goal at Old Trafford for Real Madrid made the club's hard to please supporters say to themselves: maybe we really do have a player here.
Those eight years have been trophy-laden with four Champions Leagues and a Ballon d'Or included, and on Tuesday night against Atalanta the 35-year-old in the last year of his contract looked as if he could play for many more years.
That game against Manchester United in March 2013 seems like another lifetime for Modric. Madrid had drawn the first leg 1-1 – a bad result to take to Old Trafford.