Football Daily | Welcome to Swansea: Luka Modric joins the top table of celebrity Jacks

8 hours ago 3

TAKE A LUKA THIS

With bitter rivals Cardiff in the Championship drop zone and their club comfortably ensconced in mid-table after three wins put paid to any lingering relegation concerns, Swansea City fans could have been forgiven for being delighted even before news broke that Luka Modric had become a minority shareholder in their club. While he may lack the Hollywood glamour of Catherine Zeta-Jones and the comedy chops of podcasting’s Elis James, by investing in the Welsh club the Real Madrid and Croatia legend has immediately catapulted himself into a VIP place at the top table of celebrity Jacks.

“Swansea has a strong identity, an incredible fanbase, and the ambition to compete at the highest level,” cooed Modric, stopping short of channeling his inner Robbie Keane and revealing that, growing up as a child in Zaton Obrovacki, he slept under a Cyril the Swan duvet and had posters of Andy Legg, Dave Penney and John Cornforth plastered over his bedroom. “Playing at the highest level, I believe I can provide my experience to the club. My goal is to support the club’s growth in a positive way and to help to build an exciting future.”

While many Swans fans are almost certainly of a mind that the most effective way their new co-owner could support their growth in a positive way would be to come and play for them when his Madrid contract expires in June, it seems unlikely the 2018 Ballon d’Or winner would be satisfied with a bit-part role behind Gonçalo Franco and Lewis O’Brien in the pecking order. And let’s face it, without regular minutes, the 39-year-old would have little to no chance of unseating Lee Trundle from top spot in the Club Legend stakes.

The surprise news of Modric’s decision to join American businessmen Andy Coleman, Brett Cravatt and Jason Cohen in the boardroom of a club that posted a pre-tax loss of £15.2m in the latest financial year has prompted a number of questions. Specifically “Why?” and “How much?” For now, the answers remain unclear, so we are left to conclude that he must have fallen in love with the Swansea.com (née Liberty) Stadium on his only recorded visit to the club, as a Tottenham player on New Year’s Eve 2011. And let’s face it, who wouldn’t, seeing as there’s a Harvester just a stone’s throw away in the adjacent Morfa Parc. “Luka’s investment in the club is an endorsement of the club’s ambition and vision,” honked a Swans statement. “He will play a key role in helping the club garner global attention and progress both on and off the pitch.” While he may lack the showbiz credentials of the owners of another Welsh club that has its own popular award-winning documentary series, Modric is still almost certain to receive a very warm welcome to Swansea.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

“It’s my style and mistakes can happen. Even the best make errors” – some impressive self-reflection from Deportivo Riestra keeper Ignacio Arce after he went walkabout and subsequently conceded their second goal during the 3-0 Primera División defeat to Instituto in Argentina.

Deportivo Riestra goalkeeper Ignacio Arce goes walkabout during defeat to Instituto.

Your lead piece about the Premier League’s end-of-season whimper (yesterday’s Football Daily) should not cause fans to lose heart. As Liverpool sleepwalk towards their 20th crown, simply cast your eyes down a little to the battle atop the Championship. Four games to go … Leeds and Burnley both on 88 points … Sheffield United ‘wobbling’ a-la Forest in third place as demonstrated by their defeat at bottom club Plymouth the other day … the playoffs to come … and lo!! The relegation battle is also not yet a fait accompli. Football lives!” – Allastair McGillivray.

Watching Vítor Pereira bringing the vibes to a Wolverhampton Wetherspoons (yesterday’s Quote of the Day) brought a surge of warmth and some unexpected dust to my cynical and jaded eyes. Could he be the man to fill the Jürgen Klopp (early years)-shaped hole in British football culture? God knows the Premier League could do with someone to remind them of the humanity that forms the basis of its ‘world leading’ product” – Andrew Parker.

It’s interesting to see that West Ham are just one place above the relegation zone (scroll down). Apropos of nothing, David Moyes’s win ratio there was 46% (compared with Julen Lopetegui’s 32% and Graham Potter’s 23%). With every week that passes, I think back to this Big Website piece” – Noble Francis.

Re: yesterday’s Football Daily letters. Let’s stop messing around. I’d like to propose a 512-team men’s World Cup: 211 nations, plus 211 ‘league’ teams made up of players playing in the league of each nation (picking after the national squads have chosen theirs), plus 50 B squads from the top 50 nations picking third, then 50 under-21s picking last. Straight knockout, one country hosting, no seeding, two matches at any one time, played over a 16-hour day. If we’re going to gorge ourselves and knacker out all the players, let’s do it properly. It would be carnage. Come on Gianni, pull your finger out” – Tom Fleuriot.

Send letters to [email protected]. Today’s prizeless letter o’ the day winner is … Allastair McGillivray. Terms and conditions for our competitions, when we have them, can be viewed here.