...Recruited by Real Madrid from Tottenham Hotspur for £33m in August 2012, the Croatia midfielder was in danger of being harshly written off as a high-profile, big-money flop.
Appearances were irregular under Jose Mourinho and some Real fans wanted him sold, with readers of the newspaper Marca voting Modric the worst signing of the year.
Fast forward to the present day and he is indispensable to Carlo Ancelotti, the hard-to-please Bernabeu crowd are chanting his name - they want Modric to wear the prestigious number 10 shirt instead of 19 - and the queue of suitors is growing. They could be waiting a long time...
... Watch the full interview with Luka Modric on Saturday's Football Focus, 12:15 GMT on BBC One and this website.