Barca English
Sadness at being only one step away from the final hasn’t stopped Luka Modric from speaking to the media about Lionel Messi, the player who has been his rival in El Clásico between Barcelona and Real Madrid in Spain for several seasons.
The Croatian star spoke to Spanish reporters at Lusail Stadium after the match. In response to a question about the possibility that the Argentina match would be his last match with the Croatian national team, Modric did not want to confirm or deny the matter and said: “This is not the time to talk about retirement.”
In addition, the captain admitted that the dressing room was “very upset” and “very sad to lose the game” as is usual after a defeat like the one they suffered against Argentina.
Already in the mixed zone, Modric criticized the Italian referee Daniele Orsato, especially for the penalty kick he awarded in favor of the Argentine national team, which allowed Messi to open the scoring.
Luca said, “We were fine, we controlled the match, and this corner that the referee did not give us, and the undeserved penalty kick, changed everything. I do not believe”.
For Modric, playing the match for third place is “not a punishment”, because “it’s never a punishment to play for Croatia. We did a great World Cup and now there is a bronze in the match and we have to prepare ourselves, because if we succeed it will also be a good success.”
Modric sparked controversy with his statements about Messi after the match as well, when he did not hesitate to say, according to statements published by the Argentine newspaper Ole: “I hope that (Messi) will win this World Cup, because he is the best player in history and he deserves it.”
Modric, who has teamed up with Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid for several years, is controversial to admit that Messi is better than his former colleague, but also the best in history.
Source: Mundo Deportivo
