Ballon d'Or winner on Mbappe: 'He has to live with his decision'

Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric has opened up about the Kylian Mbappe transfer saga that ultimately ended with the Frenchman choosing to extend his contract with Paris Saint-Germain.

The 2018 Ballon d'Or winner said that while there is no intention to "crucify" Mbappe for his decision, he made a not-so-subtle hint that he thinks the 23-year-old will live to regret his decison.

"Mbappe made his decision, that's his right and now he's living with that decision," Modric said, in an interview quoted by Marca. "We all thought he would come to us, but it didn't happen.... Now what? We're not going to crucify him.

Indeed, everyone around the world, not just in Real Madrid, believed that Mbappe was on his way to the Santiago Bernabeu. It was perhaps only the insiders at PSG and Mbappe's own family who were not surprised by his long drawn out decision to sign a contract extension.

In fact, it was Mbappe himself who said last year that he wanted to leave, and he had admitted in the past that it was his ultimate dream to join Los Blancos. However, while that dream is not necessarily over, he has now already passed up the opportunity at least twice.

Nevertheless, Modric pointed out that Real Madrid won the UEFA Champions League this year without Mbappe and they are confident that they can do it again. In fact, he said that despite the Frenchman's heroics and PSG's star studded squad, it was still Real Madrid that came out on top.

"With Neymar and Mbappe, they have a collection of talent but we are Real Madrid and when we found our rhythm, with the fantastic support from the fans, we simply crushed them," he said.

The Croatian also stood by the club's motto of putting the badge above any individual, no matter how good he is. "Mbappe is a great player, but as I always repeat, no footballer is more important than the club, Real Madrid are the biggest, above all players, and it will always be like that."

Speaking of superstars, Modric also commented about Lionel Messi, who joined PSG last season. He admitted that it was strange to see the Argentine in another shirt, after having played against him as a Barcelona player for many years.

Modric has recently signed a contract extension with Real Madrid, and he will be hoping to maintain an important role in Carlo Ancelotti's squad next season. He admitted that after having been with the club for so long, he had a hard time seeing colleagues leaving the club. He was particularly hit hard by the departure of former captain Sergio Ramos.

"All the departures of players with whom you share a very successful era are painful, for everyone. After nine years Sergio was gone, from the first day he was close to me, he helped me adapt to Real Madrid, he encouraged me and believed in my potential," he said, before adding that he and Ramos are still constantly in touch with each other even after the latter moved to Paris.