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Thirty-nine years of age, goodness me.

We’re delighted to announce that Luka Modric has just won the Puskas Award

Michael Lee •

At 39, most elite footballers have hung up their boots and turned their attention to their post-playing careers.

Some will have entered coaching, with a view to becoming managers, while others will be dining out on their reputation in a warm punditry studio.

Luka Modric is an honourable exception.

Edging closer to his fifth decade, Modric is still shining in the Real Madrid midfield and produced a gob-smacking strike during their victory over Girona on Sunday.

In the 41st minute of the game at the Bernabeu, Girona foolishly thought they had cleared a corner to safety.

Instead of breathing a sigh of relief at their reprieve, they watched as Modric brought the ball down on his chest before whacking it with a heat of a thousand suns into the top corner.

Paulo Gazzaniga in the opposition goal didn’t stand a chance as the former Spurs keeper dived to his left more in vain than expectation of stopping Modric’s half-volley.

Almost every single Madrid player raced to celebrate with the old master as the infamously demanding Bernabeu crowd couldn’t muster a single objection to the beauty they’d just witnessed.

Modric signed for Madrid in 2012 and Sunday’s game was his 574th appearance for the Spanish giants.

The ability to maintain high standards at world football’s most demanding club has seen the midfielder become one of the greatest players of his generation and beloved by supporters across the globe.

In a recent interview, former team-mate Casemiro gave a prime example of Modric’s peerless mentality after winning the Champions League in 2016.

“I’m going to tell you something that until today I had not explained in any interview,” Casemiro told Diario AS.

“We were in the dressing room after the Champions League in Milan against Atleti, which we won on penalties.

“We were celebrating the eleventh and Luka Modric approaches us and tells us without changing tone and with his very peculiar Spanish: “Friends, we have to win two more Champions Leagues now.”

“We told him, “Come on Luka, we’ve had two almost in a row since Lisbon.” He replied: “No, no. With this great team we have, we have to take advantage of it and make history by winning two more in a row, at least.”

“And we won the 12th in Cardiff and the 13th in Kyiv. Followed. Luka knew it.”

Reports suggest Madrid are keen to extend Modric’s contract by another year, taking the midfielder past his 40th birthday.

But other sources have suggested the Croatia midfielder is open to playing a further year elsewhere before ending his career after the 2026 World Cup in the United States.

Whatever his decision, Modric’s thunderb*stard against Girona gave delight to fans everywhere and underlined why he is regarded as one of football’s all-time great midfielders.

By Michael Lee

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Luka Modric