Former Al Nassr sporting director revealed Modric was close to swapping Madrid for Saudi club

Luka Modric was close to leaving Real Madrid last summer. The Croatian player is no longer essential to the squad and so the decision was taken to give him the freedom to choose.

In the end, the midfielder stayed at the Santiago Bernabeu outfit, but his destination could have been Al Nassr, where his former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo is a star player and ambassador.

Goran Vucevic, former sporting director of the Saudi side, confirmed that Modric had an offer from Al Nassr but ultimately chose to stay with Real Madrid.

"We had a good relationship, we met in Riyadh before the World Cup in Qatar, also in Madrid. In the meetings were the owners of the club, Modric and I. Luka told us that he didn't consider any other options than Real Madrid and Al Nassr. He said that his first choice was Madrid and that if he didn't stay, he would come. That's the only truth," Vucevic told 'Sata 24'.

Vucevic also spoke about Cristiano Ronaldo: "I've never seen a bigger professional than him. Every morning he was the first to come to the training complex, long before the others. We would sit down, have coffee, talk.... I was honoured to have been involved in his signing, as well as having the opportunity to work with him".