Luka Modric Extends Contract with Real Madrid until 2023

Luka Modric of Real Madrid celebrates with the trophy after winning the UEFA Champions League final between Liverpool FC and Real Madrid at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, near Paris, France, 28 May 2022. (EPA)
Luka Modric of Real Madrid celebrates with the trophy after winning the UEFA Champions League final between Liverpool FC and Real Madrid at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, near Paris, France, 28 May 2022. (EPA)
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Luka Modric Extends Contract with Real Madrid until 2023

Luka Modric of Real Madrid celebrates with the trophy after winning the UEFA Champions League final between Liverpool FC and Real Madrid at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, near Paris, France, 28 May 2022. (EPA)
Luka Modric of Real Madrid celebrates with the trophy after winning the UEFA Champions League final between Liverpool FC and Real Madrid at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, near Paris, France, 28 May 2022. (EPA)

Croatia midfielder Luka Modric has signed a one-year contract extension with Real Madrid and will stay at the European champions at least until June 2023, the club announced on Wednesday.

The announcement was made not long after the 36-year-old won his fifth Champions League title in a decade with the LaLiga champions. He also won the Ballon d'Or in 2018.

It is the second year in a row that Modric has signed a one-year extension with Real as his current contract was set to expire at the end of June.

Modric has played 436 games in all competitions for Real, scoring 31 goals and providing 73 assists. He is the 20th player with the most appearances in the club's history, two behind Cristiano Ronaldo.

Along with five Champions League titles, Modric has also won three LaLiga titles, one Copa del Rey, four Spanish Super Cups, three European Super Cups and four Club World Cups at Madrid.



South Korea Expresses Regret after Its Athletes Introduced as North Korea at Opening Ceremony

 Athletes of South Korea travel by boat along the Seine river during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, in Paris, France, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP)
Athletes of South Korea travel by boat along the Seine river during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, in Paris, France, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP)
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South Korea Expresses Regret after Its Athletes Introduced as North Korea at Opening Ceremony

 Athletes of South Korea travel by boat along the Seine river during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, in Paris, France, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP)
Athletes of South Korea travel by boat along the Seine river during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, in Paris, France, Friday, July 26, 2024. (AP)

South Korea expressed regret that its delegation of athletes at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony on Friday was introduced as from rival North Korea and has demanded assurances from organizers the mistake will not happen again.

As the boat carrying South Korean athletes passed on the Seine, the announcer introduced them as the "Democratic People's Republic of Korea" - the official name of North Korea - in French and English.

The announcer used the same introduction when the North Korean delegation passed.

South Korea's vice minister for sports and culture, Jang Mi-ran, who was in Paris, had requested a meeting with International Olympics Committee President Thomas Bach, the ministry said in a statement.

"We express regret that the country was introduced as North Korea at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games when the athletes of the Republic of Korea were entering," it said.

South Korea's National Olympic Committee immediately referred the incident to the Games' organizers and requested that the error will not be repeated.

South Korea's delegation includes 143 athletes competing in 21 events. North Korea, which is returning to the Games for the first time since Rio 2016, has sent 16 athletes.