Luka Modrić has revealed that football has been carefully monitoring his imminent decline since 2019 without yet detecting it.

The AC Milan midfielder discussed the continued fascination with his age during an interview with Marca, explaining that the subject does not make him angry but has become exhausting.

“It does get tiring,” Modrić admitted.

The conversation began after Croatia reached the 2018 World Cup final and Modrić won the Ballon d’Or. He was 33 at the time, which prompted people to begin asking: “Let’s see how long he lasts.”

The answer has so far required seven years, two more Champions League titles, another World Cup medal, a Nations League final and several additional trophies.

Modrić remained at Real Madrid until 2025 before joining Milan, where he continued playing at the highest level instead of cooperating with the retirement schedule prepared for him several seasons earlier.

He believes footballers should be assessed by what they produce on the pitch rather than the date printed on their identification documents. Whether someone is 18, 30, 40 or even 50 should be irrelevant if they remain capable of competing.

“Age, to me, is just a number,” he said.

Football has largely responded by placing that number in every headline, television graphic and introduction preceding his name.

Modrić will turn 41 on 9 September, an event expected to provide commentators with several more months of material concerning the extraordinary fact that Luka Modrić is 41.

His longevity is undeniably remarkable. Most elite midfielders do not remain influential at that age, which explains the attention. It also means that every successful performance now produces another discussion about when the successful performances will finally stop.

Having failed to identify his decline at 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39 and 40, football will shortly begin testing 41.

Modrić has spent seven years answering questions about how long he can continue. The answer remains unfinished because he has continued.