○One of the biggest debates in the world of soccer revolves around which player is better: Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo.
But legendary Croatian player and current Inter Milan star Luka Modric doesn’t have a preference for either, but he does have a favorite. And another Argentinian.
Luis Enrique shocks PSG players with his amazing touch
Modric passes Messi with CR7
Luka shined during his time at Real Madrid, where he stayed from 2012 to 2025. He played in 591 matches and scored 43 goals. He also shared the most successful stage of his club career with Cristiano Ronaldo.
However, he also has to face Barcelona’s rising star Lionel Messi, and he has played against Messi while keeping his country’s colors. The most recent match was the semi-final of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar (3-0), won by Leo and Argentina.
With all this experience, one might think that picking the best player of all time would be biased towards one of these two players. However, the award was given not to either of them, but to one of Lionel’s compatriots.
“Diego Maradona is the greatest. Messi and Diego are the greatest, but Diego is Diego,” he said repeatedly, affirming that his biggest idol is the former Napoli star.
This is not the first time Luka has shown fanaticism for the 1986 world champion. In a conversation with Spanish YouTuber The Real Yesus, the 39-year-old Croatian chose Diego Maradona in his top five, along with Ronaldo Nazario, Francesco Totti, Zvonimir Boban and Zinedine Zidane. And yes, he left Leo and CR7 alone again.
On another occasion, Luka was visibly moved when he received Maradona’s shirt from an ESPN reporter during Euro 2024, saying: “I’m happy. I’m really happy to get this shirt. Diego is the best. This moved me.”
Meanwhile, Modric is preparing for his fifth World Cup. Croatia are in Group L with England, Ghana and Panama, and their first match will be against England on Wednesday 17 June 2026 at Dallas Stadium.
But as he pointed out against Napoli in 2017, he won’t play against his GOAT. “Thank God Maradona isn’t playing! We’re happy about that,” Luka joked, adding: “He’s a great guy and one of the best players of all time.” Without a doubt, his passion knows no bounds.
