Mount Reveals Deep Admiration For Luka Modric

The pair are expected to play pivotal roles for their respective sides, having already locked horns at club level in the UEFA Champions League in the just ended season.

Mount came out on top in the previous meetings, with Chelsea topping Real Madrid over two legs in the Champions League semi-final before going on to lift the trophy against Manchester City.

Mount says he has long admired the 2018 Ballon d’or winner and even went extra lengths to get a souvenir from the former Tottenham Hotspur man when they met.

"I've got it at home along with a couple of others. It's always good to keep those special shirts," Mount told reporters from St. George's Park.

"I spoke to Kovacic before the first game and asked if I could get his shirt at a later date. I managed to do that and he asked for mine in the second game because I didn't actually give him mine in the first.

"Kova said he likes to swap with players so he came up and said he wanted mine, just said good luck in the upcoming games. It was brilliant for me obviously to speak to him and he wants my shirt so I was quite overwhelmed.

"He has always been a player that I have looked up to. Ever since he has been in the Premier League with Tottenham, I have watched him quite closely. Playing against him, it was weird because I had watched him so much, I kind of knew his moves and what he was going to do.

"It helps being a fan of a player and then playing against him because you know what he likes to do. The experience of playing against him helps because you want to be in these big games and learn how to handle the pressure and big moments.

"Them two games [against Real Madrid] were massive in our run and I gained a lot of experience from the two games."