The new life of Luka Modric

When Real Madrid made public the team's line-up against Inter Milan, no one was surprised anymore by the absence of Luka Modric. At 35, the Croatian, who won the Ballon d'Or only a couple of years ago, has begun to understand that he is no longer here to play a full game at the highest level.

Zinedine Zidane has consistently opted for the Casemiro-Kroos-Valverde trio and the Uruguayan has taken the place of the Croatian in the team.

In the three most important matches played by the 'merengues' this season, against Barcelona, Gladbach and Inter, Modric has always come from the bench.

Even Toni Kroos' poor form has not made Zidane give the midfielder, who was the driving force behind the white midfield in the last five years, anything more. But when Luka came on, he continued to respond perfectly.

To begin with, he played just over 20 minutes in the 'Clásico' and improved the team with his entrance. In addition, he put the icing on the cake with a great goal in injury time to seal the match.

In Germany Luka Modric came on when the Spanish side was under massive pressure and losing. He had a fantastic impact on the side's performance and was vital in equalising the game.

Finally, Modric also went on in the second half against Inter and Real Madrid managed to hold on to an Italian team that was threatening. This shows that, despite the fact that he no longer has an important role in the team, the player is still important to the new Madrid's success.