Luka Modrić leans toward extending AC Milan stay, and his crypto footprint keeps growing
The 40-year-old midfielder's decision to stay in Serie A matters more for the athlete-branded token market than most people realize
Luka Modrić, the 40-year-old Croatian maestro who spent 13 years pulling strings at Real Madrid, appears set to keep doing his thing in Italy. Multiple Italian media outlets, including La Gazzetta dello Sport, report that Modrić is inclined to activate a contract extension with AC Milan for the 2026-27 Serie A season.
The football side of things
Modrić joined Milan in June 2025 on a one-year deal reportedly worth approximately €3.5 million net per season, including bonuses. The contract came with a built-in option for an additional year, which is the clause he now appears ready to trigger.
His departure from Real Madrid last summer ended one of the most decorated club careers in modern football. Over 13 seasons in the Spanish capital, he won multiple Champions League titles, La Liga crowns, and the 2018 Ballon d’Or.
His first season at Milan has been something of a mixed bag. Under new coach Ruben Amorim, the Rossoneri failed to secure a Champions League berth. Despite that, Amorim is reportedly keen on retaining Modrić, viewing the veteran as a stabilizing presence during what the club considers a transitional phase.
On the international front, Croatia’s 2026 World Cup campaign ended in disappointment. Modrić has accumulated over 200 caps for his country across his international career.
Where crypto enters the picture
Modrić serves as a global brand ambassador for CoinW, a cryptocurrency exchange. That’s a formal, structured partnership, not the kind of one-off influencer post that defined the 2021 era of celebrity crypto endorsements.
Then there’s the $MODRIC token. The meme token, associated with the midfielder, had achieved a market cap of roughly $100K by early June 2026.
AC Milan itself has been active in the fan token space through initiatives with Socios, the platform that has partnered with dozens of major sports organizations to issue blockchain-based fan tokens.
What this means for the athlete token market
The $MODRIC token’s $100K market cap means liquidity is thin. Thin liquidity means volatility cuts both ways, and it cuts hard. Any negative news, whether it’s an injury, poor form, or a broader crypto market downturn, could erase value quickly.
Athlete endorsements of crypto products have drawn increasing scrutiny from regulators in the US and Europe. Modrić’s role as a CoinW ambassador puts him in a category that regulatory bodies are actively examining. Any tightening of rules around sports figures promoting exchanges or tokens could reshape the economics of these partnerships.