After the humiliating 5-2 defeat against Barça, Luka Modric delivers a bitter truth: “If we have to…”

The oldest player in the current Real Madrid squad, Luka Modric, addressed the media on Sunday evening following the devastating 5-2 humiliation against Barça in the Spanish Super Cup final. As the Madrid team languishes in agony, the Croatian midfielder calls for moving forward.

Carlo Ancelotti and his team displayed another alarming performance on Sunday in Saudi Arabia. Struggling against big teams this season, Real Madrid once again crumbled in front of FC Barcelona. While it was believed that the team had improved at the start of this year, only Kylian Mbappé honoured the merengue shirt during the 2025 Spanish Super Cup final played in Saudi Arabia on Sunday. Incapable of playing cohesively, defending as a unit, or pressing high, Luka Modric and his teammates were soundly defeated 5-2 by their Catalan rivals.

Modric acknowledges Barça’s superiorityAfter the humiliating 5-2 defeat against Barça, Luka Modric delivers a bitter truth: “If we have to…”

In a match where the gap in quality was glaringly evident, several players clearly demonstrated that they are not up to the required standard. While Carlo Ancelotti admitted that his players did absolutely nothing to prevent this monumental fiasco, which will go down in the annals of Spanish football, Luka Modric tried to put a positive spin on things. The veteran Croatian, the only player to stop and speak to the media after the humiliation in the Superclásico, told Madridistas that it was better to lose this final—undoubtedly a bitter pill to swallow—than to lose other finals this season.

“In football, there are always defeats and victories. You can’t always win. If we have to lose a trophy, we’d prefer it to be this one. Even though it’s never easy or pleasant to lose to your rival, we must move on—that’s football. Congratulations to Barcelona, whoplayed a great match and were the better team. We need to improve and continue our momentum, which, especially in La Liga, has been very good lately,” the 39-year-old player told the press.

Empty words that mean nothing

After the humiliating 5-2 defeat against Barça, Luka Modric delivers a bitter truth: “If we have to…”

Undoubtedly intended to soothe the hearts of millions of distraught fans worldwide, Luka Modric’s message does little to reassure anyone. As often said, there are defeats within defeats. After the 4-0 loss on 26 October at the Santiago Bernabéu in La Liga, Real Madrid could not afford to sink so low in the following Clasico, especially knowing that the opposing team is not at its best either. Conceding five goals against Barça after the four from nine weeks ago is a serious failure, shedding light on the lifeless state of this team.