Lionel Messi vs Luka Modric: Head-to-head history, records and stats
All you need to know about the Messi vs Modric rivalry, from their careers in club football to the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar. The two greats will see their countries face each other for just the third time in World Cup history on Tuesday (13 December).
Football
Lionel Messi and Luka Modric are two of the greatest players to ever grace football’s world stage, and now they’re on the brink of captaining their nation to a FIFA World Cup 2022 final.
It won’t be the first time the two have come head-to-head for both club and country, though.
Both Argentina and Croatia have locked horns previously, three times in a friendly and twice at the World Cup. While neither were present at the first competitive encounter in 1998, the duo took to the field on opposing sides four years ago at the World Cup in Russia.
Croatia ran out 3-0 winners in that group game, with Modric on the scoresheet, in a result that would see them make it all the way to the final before being beaten by France. For Messi’s Argentina, however, they were fated to a round-of-16 exit at the hands of the eventual champions, on the losing end of a thrilling 4-3 clash.
With a place in the final on the line, and a chance for either one of these players to bow out with football’s most coveted honour, how do the two compare?
When Lionel met Luka: What happened last time?
These two have long been on opposing sides of football, dating back to Modric’s move to Real Madrid in 2012, right up until Lionel Messi’s Barcelona departure in 2021.
In that time, the pair contested La Liga titles, Spanish cup honours, and shared some iconic sporting moments in the great El Clasico rivalry that would have viewers gripped.
But you can’t run from rivalries – and though he sported the strip of new club Paris Saint-Germain, Messi met Modric once again as Real Madrid and PSG faced one another in the 21/22 Champions League.
Messi and his Parisian teammates earned a hard-fought win at the Parc des Princes in the first leg, thanks to a last-gasp winner from Kylian Mbappe to reward their efforts following a dominant display.
And when Mbappe struck just before half-time to put the away side 1-0 up at the Bernabéu, making it 2-0 on aggregate, it looked as though Messi would haunt the Madridistas once more.
That was, of course, until Karim Benzema stepped up in the most phenomenal manner and produced a hat-trick in the last 30 minutes of the game to send Madrid through.
On that night (9 March 2022), Modric sprinkled a bit of magic on the game to produce a breathtaking assist for Benzema’s equalising goal – playing a key part in getting the better of Messi this time round.
But with a World Cup final looming, who will get the better of the other this time round?
Lionel Messi vs Luka Modric: Head-to-head stats
Let's take a look at the numbers behind their careers so far...
Lionel Messi vs Luka Modric: Team and individual honours
When it comes to football, statistics only tell a fraction of the story; these two players are a prime example of that.
Their influence on their team is evident, and it doesn't always go unnoticed. So let's take a look at the trophy triumphs they've been integral to...
Messi
Team | Individual
- FIFA: Best Men's Player (2019, 2009)
- Ballon d'Or (2021, 2019, 2015, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009)
- UEFA: Best Player in Europe (2015, 2011, 2009)
- 3x FIFA Club World Cup
- 1x Copa America (International)
- 4x Champions League winner
- 10x La Liga Champion
- 1x Ligue 1 Champion
- 3x UEFA Super Cup winner
- 7x Spanish Cup winner
- 8x Spanish Super Cup winner
- 1x French Cup winner
- 1x U20 World Cup winner
- 1x Olympic Gold Medalist
- 1x CONMEBOL Uefa Cup of Champions winner (International)
Modric
Team | Individual
- FIFA: Best Men's Player (2018)
- Ballon d'OR (2018)
- UEFA: Best Player in Europe (2018)
- 4x FIFA Club World Cup
- 5x Champions League winner
- 3x La Liga Champion
- 4x UEFA Super Cup winner
- 1x Spanish Cup winner
- 4x Spanish Super Cup winner
- 3x Croatian Champion
- 2x Croation Cup winner
Argentina vs Croatia, Lionel Messi vs Luka Modric: Schedule and time
The first time these two magicians of football met on the international stage, it was 2006 in a friendly. Croatia went onto win that game 3-2, despite Messi getting on the scoresheet inside the first 10 minutes.
Their next meeting for their respective nations was that group stage match at the 2018 World Cup, with Modric scoring.
Now comes Tuesday (13 December), and a chance for the duo to captain their country to a final, where only one of these greats will get the chance to recitfy past heartbreaks.
This enthralling semi-final match up will kick-off at 22:00 local time - 20:00 CET - at the Lusail Stadium.
It is possible that this is the last time either of these players will feature at a World Cup for their country, but who will get a second chance saloon and who will be forced to bow out at the final hurdle?