Croatia's favorite football threesome continues to gain the attention of international media.
While Luka Modrić and Dejan Lovren prepare to face one another in the Champions League final next weekend, the Dutch football magazine Voetbal introduces their readers to the other (and ugly) side of the Croatian football stars, reports Index.hr on May 17, 2018.
Journalist Iwan van Duren, in the text titled "Mamić's Cash Machines - Modrić and Lovren Stuck on the Balkan Route,” writes about the ongoing court proceeding at the Osijek courthouse against Zdravko Mamić for illegally withdrawing 116 million kuna from football club Dinamo Zagreb.
Van Duren states that "two footballers play a key role in one of the biggest corruption cases in Croatia's history, the focus of which is the man of Dinamo and HNS who has been a leader for many years."
Iwan van Duren argues that Dinamo fans are boycotting club matches because they do not want their club to be part of Mamić’s cash machine. Voetbal also reported that Modrić and Lovren were suspected of false testimony at Mamić’s trial and that they brought him nearly 20 million euro. Van Duren adds that Mamić persuaded the players to sign private contracts with him and recalls the case of Eduardo da Silva who signed that he would share his income with Mamić until the end of his career.
"Modrić received half of 21 million euro in his account, which is as much as Tottenham paid him for him at Dinamo. And then he was with Mamić and forwarded the money to him. He only kept a million and a half euro, so it’s no wonder they call him Mamić's ATM."
A few years later, Real Madrid’s star midfielder arrived at Mamić’s trial.
"The best football player in the country finally had the opportunity to knock out the hated football ruler. However, he knew nothing about it anymore. 'I did not say that. I was confused. I do not remember…’ Modrić said in court and crushed many of his fans.”
The Dutch journalist also criticizes Lovren's testimony, which was not much different than Luka’s.
"No Croatian judge wants to be responsible for the possible absence of Lovren or Modrić from the World Cup in Russia," concludes Van Duren.
Will anything happen before the World Cup in less than a month? You can read the full story here.
