{"id":50584,"date":"2025-05-23T09:26:29","date_gmt":"2025-05-23T09:26:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=50584"},"modified":"2025-05-23T09:26:29","modified_gmt":"2025-05-23T09:26:29","slug":"rafael-nadal-reacts-as-luka-modric-announces-decision-to-leave-real-madrid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=50584","title":{"rendered":"Rafael Nadal reacts as Luka Modric announces decision to leave Real Madrid"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As\u00a0<strong>Luka Modric<\/strong>\u00a0prepares to leave Real Madrid after 13 extraordinary years,\u00a0<strong>Rafael Nadal<\/strong>\u00a0shared an emotional tribute that resonated far beyond the football pitch.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scontent.fhan14-3.fna.fbcdn.net\/v\/t39.30808-6\/499993572_1023053313250565_4913071179028235263_n.jpg?_nc_cat=103&amp;ccb=1-7&amp;_nc_sid=833d8c&amp;_nc_ohc=CD3gNwyc6d0Q7kNvwGB4Anh&amp;_nc_oc=AdktYWyYPIhSZonuqbc7b09flJ4Nj_7fr4fOKx09RrgiUYyJem_DfkykC8Lp6NHSJILka-z355-k8KdiRvEaQnsH&amp;_nc_zt=23&amp;_nc_ht=scontent.fhan14-3.fna&amp;_nc_gid=miyx34z9KFrZ-4tExcJKCA&amp;oh=00_AfL0Y1vE2NgfF4Fe516dVLM6SJR44haOKCwyPC7mFujBWQ&amp;oe=68360D4C\" alt=\"C\u00f3 th\u1ec3 l\u00e0 h\u00ecnh \u1ea3nh v\u1ec1 2 ng\u01b0\u1eddi, r\u00e2u, b\u1ed9 v\u00e9t v\u00e0 v\u0103n b\u1ea3n cho bi\u1ebft 'FIRST SPORTZ z How lucky we have been to be able to enjoy you for so long, @lukamodric10. \u03c7 Thank you for all these years being an example on and off the field Congratulations on an incredible career at @realmadrid. wish you all the best in the future!'\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Real Madrid officially confirmed that their long-time midfielder and captain will part ways with the club after this summer\u2019s Club World Cup. Since arriving from Tottenham in 2012, Modric has lifted six Champions League trophies and claimed 28 titles in total, writing his name into the club\u2019s and sport\u2019s history books.<\/p>\n<p>Among the many tributes Modric received, Rafael Nadal\u2019s message stood out. Sharing two photos of the midfielder, Rafa wrote:<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cHow lucky we\u2019ve been to enjoy you for so long, Luka Modric. Thank you for all these years of being an example on and off the field. Congratulations on an incredible career at Real Madrid. I wish you all the best in the future!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-rich is-provider-instagram wp-block-embed-instagram\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe id=\"instagram-embed-0\" class=\"instagram-media instagram-media-rendered\" src=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DJ93udBItdw\/embed\/captioned\/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=658&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Frafaelnadalfans.com&amp;rp=%2F2025%2F05%2F23%2Frafael-nadal-reacts-as-luka-modric-announces-decision-to-leave-real-madrid%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A2253.600000023842%7D\" height=\"1027\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-instgrm-payload-id=\"instagram-media-payload-0\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The tribute carried extra meaning, as Rafa himself officially retired from tennis at the Davis Cup Final 8 in M\u00e1laga last year. His words to Modric weren\u2019t just from a fan \u2014 they were from one sporting great to another, united by shared values: humility, leadership, and a legacy built over years of consistent excellence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As\u00a0Luka Modric\u00a0prepares to leave Real Madrid after 13 extraordinary years,\u00a0Rafael Nadal\u00a0shared an emotional tribute that resonated far beyond the football pitch. Real Madrid officially confirmed that their&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50585,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50584","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tennis"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Rafael Nadal reacts as Luka Modric announces decision to leave Real Madrid - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=50584\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rafael Nadal reacts as Luka Modric announces decision to leave Real Madrid - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As\u00a0Luka Modric\u00a0prepares to leave Real Madrid after 13 extraordinary years,\u00a0Rafael Nadal\u00a0shared an emotional tribute that resonated far beyond the football pitch. 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