The legendary Croatian has started just four matches so far this season, and a switch to MLS might be too tempting to turn down this winter

Inter Miami have missed out on qualifying for the MLS playoffs. As Lionel Messi nursed a mystery injury, the Herons lost form and fell out of the race to make it into the postseason. Once Miami have played their final game of the campaign on October 21, the likes of Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba won't play another competitive club match until the end of February.

Unsurprisingly, then, the transfer rumours have begun as Miami plot their next assault on the market in a bid to spark a true title challenge in 2024. While there will undoubtedly be a couple of new domestic arrivals, most notably via the MLS' SuperDraft, all eyes will be on which global superstars can be tempted to join Messi in south Florida.

Luis Suarez continues to be linked with a reunion with his three former Barcelona team-mates after the Uruguayan striker was denied the opportunity to leave by current club Gremio in the summer. His contract is up at the end of the year, however, and so that move certainly feels likely to happen.

But perhaps the most intriguing name to have popped up in the gossip columns is that of Luka Modric, who has been repeatedly linked with a move to South Beach having fallen out of favour at Real Madrid, with Miami owner David Beckham reportedly driving the club's interest.

What follows is not a Modric footballing obituary. Nor is it an assertion that the midfielder, now 38 years old, cannot offer anything on a football pitch. Nor is it an advisory piece for either Florentino Perez or Beckham. Rather, it's a look at a strange reality: The 2018 Ballon d'Or winner, arguably the finest midfielder of his generation, can't really get a look in for his club anymore.

Modric has been little more than a steady back-up for Carlo Ancelotti's side so far this season, though there is an argument to be made that his role could grow in importance as the months go on. But Modric is a special case, a midfielder who seems to deserve a bigger role, wherever that may be.

And with the option to play regularly once more surely imminent, albeit at an MLS club it could be time for him to say goodbye to Santiago Bernabeu — perhaps sooner than he expected.

Getty ImagesWords of warning coming true

Modric's decline in playing time has been on the cards for a whole. Since appearing in nearly every fixture during the 2020-21 season, the Croatian has seen his involvement steadily decrease. Although he was a star player during Madrid's Champions League-winning campaign in 2021-22, his La Liga involvements were limited, with just 25 starts.

Things got tighter last year. Modric only managed 19 starts in the Spanish top-flight — although he was a shoo-in for European knockout contests. But it speaks volumes that he was still only able to play half a season, even with Madrid chasing Barcelona in the La Liga title race.

Ancelotti himself admitted in January that his aging midfield maestro might need to prepare for a future of fewer minutes, saying: "They (Modric and Toni Kroos) know there's a lot of quality inside this squad. It's a moment of transition. I talked to them about this at the start of the season."

In Modric's case, the manager has delivered on that promise this campaign. The ex-Tottenham man has made just four starts in all competitions, though was in the XI for the Madrid derby against Atletico in what was the team's biggest game of the season so far. His influence in that contest was, however, noticeably limited, and Los Blancos were a better side when he was removed for more legs in midfield.

Still, Modric has defended himself and insists he can still contribute, telling a press conference on Wednesday: "It's certainly a new situation for me not to play as much as before and as much I would like to. I always want to play, feel best and prepare to give my all."

AdvertisementBig loser from Bellingham's arrival

Of course, there is a good reason why Modric is being kept out of the team. Jude Bellingham was always going to be a top signing, but few could have predicted the impact he has had in Madrid so far. Ten goals and three assists by mid-October wasn't what many were predicting for the England midfielder in Madrid.

Modric and Bellingham are clearly two different types of players. Modric is all action, those massive calves propelling a slight frame around the pitch. He lives on sharp cuts and trivela passes. Bellingham, meanwhile, is the bright-eyed fearless force. He drives and dribbles. Everything is incisive, direct, and purposeful. Very rarely do footballers have his blend of skill and drive. It is, in effect, impossible to compare a goalscoring No.10 to a box-to-box magician.

But in this Madrid system that incorporates a diamond midfield, they are battling for the same spot — the 'tip' of the quartet. And although Modric has had his moments, Bellingham is undroppable. It, in fact, proved to be almost detrimental when the two started together against Atletico Madrid, as the Blancos were left exposed on the right side of the pitch due to Bellingham's propensity to edge forward, and Modric's declining legs struggling to make up the space usually patrolled by the Englishman.

Modric is too accomplished and too good to be dropped outright. Rather, this is a player who has the misfortune to operate in the same position as one of the world's best — at an age with little room to dislodge him.

Getty ImagesKroos keeps his place

Modric isn't the only veteran midfielder at Madrid whose career is edging towards its close. Kroos, an equally important part of the Madrid outfits that won four Champions League titles from 2015-2022, is 33, and like Modric, will see his current deal expire this summer.

Although he is five years Modric's junior, both have played 17 seasons of top-flight professional football. Add to that the fact that Kroos is markedly less athletic, and simply cannot cover ground with the same relentlessness as the Croatian, and these are comparable entities in terms of mileage.

But while Modric has watched from the bench for long stretches of the season, Kroos has played 538 minutes in comparison to Modric's 391 and been the first option off the bench when Madrid needed extra legs.

Perhaps the most obvious reason for his preferential treatment is the fact that he is not competing with Bellingham for minutes. Kroos, for his part, has to battle with Eduardo Camavinga and Aurelien Tchouameni for playing time — a duo that Ancelotti is certainly far more comfortable leaving out. Madrid can cope without either of their young French midfielders.

Madrid is a club that moves at a ruthless place. Ancelotti, though loyal, isn't known for his sentiment, or belief in football romanticism. Indeed, the manager has cultivated an environment where the best fit for the individual contest tends to be selected, and those who aren't have to accept a bench role.

The fact that he recently dropped the out-of-form but highly-rated Rodrygo for aging Joselu stands as evidence that Ancelotti has few qualms about upsetting his superstars. Modric may be a special case given his stature in the game, but for his manager, he's just another player.

GettyThe lure of Miami

MLS is no longer a league for those who can't make cut in Europe anymore. The American soccer landscape has shifted dramatically in the last 15 years, and the league itself is far more competitive than it used to be. One only has to look at the big money spent on MLS stars — and their subsequent success in Europe — to see that this is set-up is no longer a punchline. In Atlanta United's Thiago Almada, the league might just have one of world football's brightest youngsters.

There is, as a certain Argentine and his friends from Catalunya have shown, still a market for big names to enjoy a career swansong. And Modric is certainly the archetype of player who could live out his final footballing days in America.

In fact, he might just be a perfect signing for Miami. Here is a European star with enough of a reputation to sell kits, and enough remaining quality to immediately improve the team he joins — theoretically slotting into a team that desperately needs a third midfielder.

A trio of Busquets, teenager Benjamin Cremaschi and Modric would be an interesting, dynamic force in the Eastern Conference. Glory is not guaranteed — there are plenty of teams in MLS who are immediately superior to Miami — but if competition remains the goal, Modric will certainly find it in Florida.

There is, of course, the romantic aspect to this all. Busquets and Modric were once great rivals on the football pitch, so seeing them operate in the same midfield would make for captivating viewing. In fact, if Suarez does indeed join as well, a team composed of four former Barca players, and one of the key Madrid stars who denied them a series of Champions League and La Liga titles, would be one of those unique things that only MLS could conjure.