'Life Went On Without Ronaldo,' Real Madrid Star Opens Up About Messi's Possible Departure

Croatian midfielder Luka Modric has drawn a comparison between Cristiano Ronaldo's departure from Real Madrid and Lionel Messi's possible FC Barcelona exit.

Ronaldo put an end to his nine-year association with Real Madrid when he moved to Juventus in the summer of 2018. The Portuguese joined the Santiago Bernabeu side from Manchester United in 2009 and the rest was history. He scored as many as 450 goals in just 438 games for the Spanish giants and also helped them win many trophies, including two La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues.

When Juventus signed Ronaldo in 2018, it was the end of an era at Real Madrid. Over the last two years, Real have struggled but have been able to recover by clinching the 2019-20 La Liga, which was their first league title since 2017.

After Barcelona's 8-2 loss to Bayern Munich at the 2019-20 Champions League quarter-final, Messi informed the club that he wanted to leave this summer despite having a year left in his current contract. Barcelona have not won the European trophy since 2015 and have faced two back-to-back humiliating exits (2019 and 2020) from the tournament. If the 33-year-old does leave this summer, Barcelona will have to undergo a whole transition to recover from the void the Argentinian would leave behind.

Speaking about Messi's possible departure from Barcelona, Real Madrid midfielder Modric has drawn parallels with Real's loss when Ronaldo parted ways two years back.

"It would be a huge loss, like when Cristiano left. But you can't think about the past. It's football and that's it. If it happens it will be a huge loss for the prestige of the league. But we need to go forward. Other players will become stars. When Cristiano left, the same thing happened; the life of Real Madrid went on without him and it will be the same for Barcelona and LaLiga without Messi," said Modric, as reported by Spanish publication Marca.

Messi, who has been associated with Barcelona for about two decades, is heavily linked with a move to Manchester City. It is believed that the Premier League side has offered Messi a five-year contract.