Harry Redknapp: Ballon d’Or winner Luka Modric says change of position at Tottenham helped his career

Harry Redknapp: Ballon d’Or winner Luka Modric says change of position at Tottenham helped his career
Luka Modric says his time under Harry Redknapp at Tottenham helped change the course of his career for the better.The midfielder capped an incredible 12 months by winning the Ballon d’Or award, having helped Real Madrid win a third consecutive Champions League in addition to being the heartbeat of a Croatia side that reached the World Cup final where he was crowned the best player.Modric called winning the Ballon d’Or – first awarded to Stanley Matthews in 1956 – an ‘unbelievable feeling.’2

Modric is the first Croatian to win the Ballon d’Or and the first player other than Ronaldo or Messi to win it since 2007

He also highlighted Redknapp’s role in his path to greatness.The change of position helped me a lot in my career. I used to play more offensively,” he said.“When I dropped back, I was able to read the game better and show my creativity. Harry Redknapp made that change.Modric joined Tottenham from Dinamo Zagreb in 2008 for around 15million and was sold to Real Madrid in 2012 for 33m.2

Modric played under Redknapp for four years at Spurs

In winning the Ballon d’Or he became the first player other than Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi to claim the award since 2007.Ronaldo finished second andFrances World Cup winner Antoine Griezmann was third.Its a big pleasure to be here among all these players,” Modric added.I am still trying to realise that I have become part of a group of exceptional players to win the Ballon dOr throughout history.”Speaking to talkSPORT in July, Redknapp said it was a pleasure to work with such a fantastic player.“Hes an amazing player and a great guy. Low maintenance, never a problem. He just came in every day, trained great and fantastic to watch on the training ground. Hes a model professional and an absolutely top-class player.”But it could have been different had Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan got his way.Keegan explained the Magpies were in the driving seat to sign him in 2008, buthead of player recruitment, Tony Jimenez, believed he wasn’t good enough for the Premier League.

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