What will happen to the four Croatian kings who have been the runner-up of the World Cup in 2018?

Although they are not a big country, Croatia has a very long history of football. As early as 1912, they had their own football association, and after their independence in 1992, they soon became members of FIFA. At the 1998 World Cup in France, members of the golden generation such as Davao Suk, Gianni, and Stimach defeated many powerful enemies all the way and finally won the third place. I never thought that in the Russian World Cup 20 years later, Croatia advanced to the final stage. If it weren't for the French team's strength at that time, they would have even had the chance to win the championship. The best record in Croatia that year was due to the "Four Heavenly Kings", namely Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic, Mario Manjukic and Ivan Perisic. So how did these four people develop later? Let's find out below!

1. Luca Modric currently plays for the team: Real Madrid

There is no doubt that Croatia was able to create miracles that year. As the captain of the team, Modric was definitely the number one hero. In the entire cup, he scored 2 goals and gave 1 assist. Although he lost to the French team, he still won the Golden Globe Award in that World Cup. In addition, with the help of Real Madrid to win the Champions League for the third consecutive year in the 17-18 season, and also won honors such as the Spanish Super Cup, the European Super Cup, and the Club World Cup, Modric reached the peak of his career, winning multiple awards such as the Golden Ball Award, the World Footballer and the Best Player of UEFA, breaking the 10-year monopoly of Ronaldo and Messi. After that, Modric still took over the Real Madrid midfielder, and as veterans such as Ramos and Benzema left one after another, he became the captain of the team. In the past seven years, he has helped Real Madrid win two more Champions League trophys, and thus, his personal Champions League number has reached an astonishing 6 times. This season, Modric, who is about to be 40, maintains his form quite well, contributing 4 goals and 9 assists. However, recently he has also confirmed that he will bid farewell to the White Army who has played for 13 years after participating in the Club World Cup. Regardless of whether he chose to retire or not, Magic Di's career has entered the final countdown. Overall, although he has not won the World Cup, his career is still very successful.

2. Ivan Rakitic currently plays for the team: Haiduke

Rakitic just turned 30 in 2018. As the main midfielder of another La Liga giant Barcelona, ​​he followed the team to win the double championships in La Liga and the Copa del Rey, and his overall condition is at its peak. The Croatian midfielder that year was indeed luxurious. The two major midfielders of Real Madrid and Barcelona were in charge, which made their offense sorted out in an orderly manner, which is also the key reason why they were able to reach the finals all the way. But unfortunately, after participating in the World Cup that year, Rakitic left the national team directly after two years and never returned to the roster. After focusing on the club's competitions, he also left Barcelona in 2020 with the honor of 13 championships. Fortunately, Rakitic, who returned to Sevilla, maintained his condition quite well. In the 20-21 season, he scored 8 goals and 5 assists, becoming the team's midfield core, and helped the team defeat Roma in the 22-23 season, winning the UEFA Cup championship again. Both in Sevilla and in Barcelona, ​​Rakitic's performance is quite good. In the winter window of 2024, Rakitic left again. After that, he had a brief stay at Riyadh Youth and Hayduk Club respectively. Not long ago, local media in Croatia reported that Rakitic, 37, announced his retirement. The veteran also ended his player career and is about to enjoy a retirement life.

3. Mario Manjukic

The current team: Retired

The Croatian frontcourt was also full of big names. Rakitic and Modric in the midfield were steadily transporting shells, while they were targeting targets, the most prominent of which was Manjukic. In the semi-finals, it was Manjukic who contributed a final in overtime that helped the team defeat England and reached the final historic conclusion. And in the final, although they lost to France in the end, Manjukic also scored a goal at the last moment, which was considered to have saved some face. Let’s talk about going back to the club level. Although he has been wandering for a long time, Manjukic is also a regular visitor to the giants. He is the one who has teams in major leagues such as Bayern, Atletico Madrid, and Juventus. After ending the World Cup journey, Manjukic returned to the old woman and continued his outstanding form in the World Cup in the 18-19 season, contributing 10 goals and 6 assists in 33 games, performing very well. Unfortunately, with Sarri taking over Juventus, Manjukic was completely thrown into the cold palace. In order to get playing time, Manjukic transferred to Du Heil of the Qatar League in 2019, but after only 10 games, he got up and left again. In the winter window of 2021, Manjukic joined AC Milan, but at that time he had already suffered injuries and it was difficult to perform well. In the end, Manjukic, who knew that his ability had declined seriously, also announced his retirement after the end of the season. Now he has become a coach, and he joined the coaching staff of the Croatian national team when he retired, and still uses another way to help the team move forward.

4. Ivan Perisic

Currently, let's introduce Perisic, the youngest of the four. Inter Milan fans are definitely not unfamiliar with Perisic. When Inter Milan was in decline, Perisic, nicknamed "Sword", saved the team from fire and fire many times. In the Croatian national team, Perisic also played the role of a key gentleman many times. In the Russian World Cup that year, he contributed 3 wonderful goals and played in the semi-finals with injuries. Manjukic scored a golden goal that defeated England, which was a wonderful assist. After returning to the club, he contributed 9 goals and 8 assists for Inter in the 18-19 season, but because he was 30 years old at the time, considering that his ability began to decline, Perisic was loaned to Bayern in 2019. Unexpectedly, this actually made Perisic. At Bayern, he still outputted 8 goals and 10 assists, and finally won the honors of the Bundesliga, German Cup and Champions League triple-champions League with Bayern. After that, Perisic returned to Inter Milan and also rose with the team. In two years, he won the Serie A championship, the Italian Cup and the Super Cup respectively. When he leaves in 2022, he is already in a state of full of honor. After that, Perisic stayed for a short time in Tottenham and Haiduke, and joined the Eredivisie's giants Eindhoven last summer. Unexpectedly, at the age of 36, he recovered in form, contributed 12 goals and 8 assists throughout the season, and finally successfully helped the team win this year's Eredivisie championship. On the national team, Peace continued to follow the team to compete in the Qatar World Cup, and gave away luxurious data of 1 goal and 3 assists, helping the team win the third place again. As for his current state, even if he will be 37 next year, it is very likely that he will still follow the team to participate in the US, Canada and Mexico World Cup.