Real Madrid star Luka Modric has revealed his teammates were sure of Cristiano Ronaldo staying at the Bernabeu at the summer.
The current FIFA The Best Men's player of the year added that many of them placed a bet Ronaldo would remain with Los Blancos.
But it came as a big surprise the Portuguese left the Spanish capital to join Juventus in a multi-million pound deal.
Modric said he was in shock when the 33-year-old and Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane left the club.
"I did not think that Zidane was going to go, nor Ronaldo," he told L'Equipe.
"When the rumour about Cristiano came up we made bets among ourselves in the dressing room and we were sure he was going to stay, but everyone makes his life choices."
The Croatian star is favoured to break the ten-year Messi/Ronaldo monopoly this year to win the Ballon d'Or.
But the former Tottenham midfielder said the comparison between him and Ronaldo end there, adding he does not deserve the award.
"I do not appreciate the overexposure of the media, frankly, I do not care much about going further in this area," he said.
"To be honest, I do not like to talk like that and say: 'Yes, I'm the one who deserves the Ballon d'Or.'
"The important thing for me is to be in the field as I have been for months, this year 2018 has undoubtedly been the best of my career and my only goal is to continue at this level."
Comments