Luka Modric has ruled out both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi when choosing his ultimate six-a-side squad.
Veteran Croatian midfielder Modric will go down in history as one of the best midfielders of his generation.
Modric, who made his name in the Premier League with Tottenham Hotspur, moved to Spanish La Liga giants Real Madrid in 2012 for a reported fee of £30 million.
Since then, the midfielder has made 563 appearances in all competitions for Los Blancos, scoring 41 goals.
Modric has also played with some of the best players in world football, including Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Toni Kroos.
Back in November, Modric ignored both Ronaldo and Messi when asked to pick his ultimate six-a-side team.
As his goalkeeper, Modric chose Madrid legend Iker Casillas, who played 63 times with the Spaniard.
He told icons.com: “It’s a difficult choice, but for me it was easy because I played with him, that’s Iker. , he’s one of the greatest players of all time.”
Moving on to defenders, Modric had to choose between two players, but said: “For me, I would choose Roberto Carlos, who is probably the best left-back of all time.”
“Here it’s between (Fabio) Cannavaro and (Paolo) Maldini. Cannavaro, Golden Ball, everything, world champion. But I choose Maldini.”
Luka Modric is one of the best players of his generation. Image: Getty
Options for Modric’s midfield include Andres Iniesta, Roberto Baggio and David Beckham.
“It’s very difficult,” Modric said of the fact that only two midfielders are allowed in the squad.
“You can’t go wrong with many things, but for me it’s (Diego) Maradona and Zizou (Zinedine Zidane). Even if they were all at the top, I would choose these two.”
Finally, Modric overlooked Ronaldo and Messi with Brazilian legend Ronaldo Nazario as his attacker.
“For me, it’s between (Cristiano) Ronaldo and Ronaldo. I played with both of them, but this (the latter) was my favorite since I was a kid,” he explained.
“I fell in love with his play and… it’s amazing. Others too… Romario, Messi, Pele, but I choose Ronaldo. Sorry, Chris!”
