Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric has rued missing out on playing against Cristiano Ronaldo in the upcoming UEFA Nations Cup tie. Croatia face Portugal on Monday, November 18, at Stadion Poljud, in the League A Group 1 tie.

Roberto Martinez has released Ronaldo, along with Bernardo Silva and Pedro Neto, from the national team as he aims to give minutes to younger squad members. Portugal have already secured a place at the top of the group with four wins and a draw from five games.

Cristiano Ronaldo shared the pitch with Modric during their time together at Real Madrid. They have also come up against each other multiple times while representing their countries. Interestingly, the Portuguese scored the 900th goal of his career in their 2-1 win over Modric’s Croatia in September this year.

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Speaking the press in the buildup to Monday’s game, as cited by Madrid Xtra, Modric remained hopeful of playing against Ronaldo once again someday.

“I’m sorry he’s not coming. You always want to play against him. I hope I’ll meet him on the pitch somewhere again in the future. I hope that will happen someday,” said Modric.

Luka Modric teamed up with Cristiano Ronaldo for six seasons at Real Madrid after joining the club in 2012.

How many goals has Cristiano Ronaldo scored for Real Madrid?

Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 450 goals from 438 games for Real Madrid in his career and is the club’s record goalscorer. He has almost 100 goals more than Karim Benzema, who is second on that list.

The Frenchman amassed 354 goals from 648 games for Los Blancos during his time at the Santiago Bernabeu. Raul completes the top three, and has scored 323 times from 741 games for the LaLiga champions in his career.

Ronaldo is one of the greatest players to wear the fabled white shirt. The Portuguese won the LaLiga title twice and the Champions League four times with Real Madrid. He also won the Copa del Rey, the Supercopa de Espana, the UEFA Super Cup as well as the FIFA Club World Cup

Ronaldo won 15 trophies during his time at the Santiago Bernabeu and also lifted four of his five Ballon d’Ors in that period. After a three-season stint with Juventus and an underwhelming second coming with Manchester United, the 39-year-old currently plies his trade with Al-Nassr. His contract with the Saudi club, however, expires next summer.