Dinamo Zagreb manager Nenad Bjelica has urged Luka Modric to consider an emotional return to his former side as he approaches the end of his contract with Real Madrid.

Modric, who turned 39 in September, is approaching the final six months of his current contract and faces an uncertain future, having failed to hold down a regular spot in Carlo Ancelotti’s starting lineup over the past 18 months.

The midfielder has started just five of his side’s 12 La Liga outings this year, having managed 18 starts last season, and is approaching a crossroads in his career as he considers extending with Madrid, retiring or pursuing a move elsewhere.

For Dinamo boss Bjelica, the preferred move would be a return to the Croatian side where Modric made his name before joining Tottenham Hotspur in 2008.

“Who wouldn’t like to have a Luka Modric in their team?” he told Radio MARCA. “I think that every Dinamo Zagreb fan would be very happy to have Luka, at least for a year.

“He would certainly help the team a lot, but the most realistic thing is that he stays in Madrid or ends his career somewhere else, although we would like him to end his career in Dinamo Zagreb.”

For Madrid, life without Modric is something for which club officials have been preparing, with Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz already identified as a potential replacement. Wirtz could even be joined in Spain by manager Xabi Alonso, who has been touted as the heir to Ancelotti’s throne.

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