Court Clears Modric Of Perjury Charge

By Max Wise

A Zagreb Municipal Court has cleared Real Madrid and Croatia playmaker, Luka Modric, of perjury charges.

Reports in the Croatian media reports that the court has dropped the charge against Modric because it is "premature" since the verdict of the substantive issue is not yet conclusive.

The FIFA Male Best Player of the year 2017, was accused by Croatian prosecutors of giving misleading information in the trial of Zdravko Mamic, an ex-executive of the latter’s former club, Dynamo Zagreb.

Mamic fled Croatia to Bosnia after being accused of embezzling funds from player sales, totaling more than £13m. The verdict is, however, being appealed.

Modric is alleged to have altered his testimony in favour of Mamic, by saying he signed an agreement that established the terms of his future transfer fees in 2004, when in fact he actually signed it in 2008.

The verdict comes as a huge relief for Luka Modric, who had an outstanding season last year by winning the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid, leading Croatia to the 2018 World Cup final in Russia and winning the UEFA Men's Best Player of the Year. 

Modric is the only player, apart from Barcelona and Argentina's, Lionel Messi, and Juventus and Portugal’s, Cristiano Ronaldo, to win the converted FIFA world best award within the last ten years.