Stipe Modric is the father of Croatian professional footballer Luka Modric. He was an aero mechanic.
He is married to his wife, Radojke Modric, and shares three children, two daughters and a son, with her.
His daughters are named Jasmina Modric and Diora Modric.
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His family was a victim of the Croatian War of Independence
On December 18, 1991, at the beginning of the Croatian War of Independence, a tragedy struck the Modric family.
The Modric family was residing in a small village named Modrici near the Velebit mountains in northern Dalmatia.
Many people had escaped the place as the Serbian militia had stormed the place, and the place was becoming a war zone except for Stipe's family and a few other people.
One day, his mother called them and said that she had seen Serbian army trucks on the road and that her husband had not returned from the pasture.
Stipe's father was walking his cattle up an abandoned street when a group of militant Serbian thugs cornered him.
His father was then brutally murdered along with five other local people.
The reason for the brutal murders was to send a message to the people of the Modrici to leave the place immediately.
His son, Luka, was just six years old at the time of his grandfather's death and was badly shaken by his grandfather's death.
During an interview, Luka said those were really hard times, and he remembers them vividly, but it's not something he wants to remember or think about.
Stipe was then compelled to flee the place and take refuge at the Hotel Iz in the town of Zadar. Stipe and his wife struggled financially.
They didn't have any electricity or running water and were surrounded by the sounds of grenades and bullets.
Not only this, but they had to survive landmines potentially buried around any corner almost every day.
Luka also said that the war made him stronger, even though it was a very hard time for him and his family.
He doesn't want to drag the war with him forever, but he doesn't want to forget about it either. It had made him tough mentally which aided him in his career.
Who is Luka?
Luka is a professional football player who plays for Real Madrid FC. Luka has been playing in the position of midfielder at Real Madrid since 2012.
He is also the captain of the Croatian National team. Luka was born in the year 1985. He grew up with his siblings, Diora and Jasmine.
He is a Croatian citizen by nationality.
Is Luka married?
Luka is married to his wife, Vanja Bosnic. The couple met each other back in 2007 and started dating after they fell in love.
They happily tied the knot in 2010 and have been together since then. As of now, the couple is parents to three children named Ema, Ivano, and Sofia.
Age and Net Worth.
The age and net worth of Stipe is unknown. His son Luka is currently 38 years old.
He has a net worth of $75 million, which he made from his football career.
Stipe’s father and son had a great bond
Luka was the first grandchild, so it was very surprising for the Modric family to see Luka Sr. so soft and gentle with his grandson.
To honor his father, Stipe named his son after his father.
No wonder Luka was too close to his granddad. He said that he was very emotionally connected to his grandfather.
He lived with his grandparents till he was six years old. His life while living with his grandparents was great, and he had a pretty good childhood with them.
Luka was always with him, and his granddad would also take him everywhere he went, be it shoveling snow, taking cattle to pasture, stacking hay, buying building materials, carrying out repairs, or anything else.
He was his grandfather's little assistant.
He said that his granddad always defended him from his mom and dad after he did something mischievous.
Grandpa Luka would take Luka out to hunt rabbits and even let him hold his shotgun once.
Luka would ditch nursery school to spend his weekend with his grandparents at their old stone house while his parents were working at a clothes factory.
Luka also shared that his grandfather would tuck him into bed and stay there until he fell asleep.
He used to feel his kindness and warmth. Luka also said that he learned patience from his grandfather.
When his grandfather passed away, his father brought his lifeless body to his home. Luka was too young to understand what was going on.
His father then came to him, put his arm around him, and took him to his grandfather's coffin.
Luka was then told to say goodbye to his grandfather. He couldn't grasp that was the last time he was seeing him.
His parents took him out of the room to distance him from the tragedy. Luka said his heart breaks every time he thinks of his grandfather dying.
Football became an escape reason to Luka
Luka grew up between the Croatian wars. After his granddad was killed, his family home, where he spent his childhood, was burned down.
His family had to leave the place and went to a refugee shelter. It was a hard time growing up between the war and the bombing sounds that scared him.
He lived in fear. However, during all the chaos, Luka found one thing to ignore: what was happening in the surroundings, and it was football.
He started playing, and eventually, football became his escape way. He was young yet so talented.
He loved playing football, and even in those situations, he managed to play and shape himself.
Luka nearly went to prison?
In 2018, Dinamo Zagreb FC's former coach, Zoran Mamic, was proven guilty for different illegal reasons.
He was found guilty of match-fixing, illegal money-making from the player transfer, and others.
However, at that time, he wasn’t arrested as he fled the country, but after his dirty thing came out, the truth of Luka’s involvement in one of his illegal works came out, too.
It was known that Luka and Mamic were paid 10 million Euros from Zagreb FC as a Transfer bonus, and Luka himself admitted to that.
But when it was time to speak up in the court, Luka backed out. If he was proven guilty of that, he could have spent his life in prison.
Luckily, his charges were dropped, and he was saved from imprisonment.
Who would be in Luka’s 5-A-Side team?
Luka was asked five players' names that he would pick for his 5-A-Side team. For that, the first name that he picked was Sergio Ramos.
Sergio is a great defender and the leader of the pitch, so the first name he chose was Ramos.
The second player that he would pick is Ronaldo.
He loves the work ethic of Ronaldo, and the way he puts effort every day to achieve more and more is appreciated.
Another player he chose is Tony Cross, and Luka chose him for his midfield ability.
He also chose Gareth Bale as he has played most games with him and Karim Benzema as his fifth player.