Luka Modric to become an owner at Swansea City in bombshell move

Luka Modric is set to become a shock new minority owner at Swansea City, WalesOnline understands.

The Croatian midfielder, 39, is believed to still be keen on continuing his playing career at Real Madrid, although his future at the Bernabeu is still up in the air with his contract set to run out this summer.

However, it seems he has already made career moves away from the field, although news of his involvement at Swansea will clearly come as a massive shock. Sign up to our Swansea City newsletter here.

A deal for him to take a minority stake in the club has already been agreed, and an announcement could well be made in the coming hours.

It's believed this move does not affect his ambitions to carry on playing, with the midfielder believed to have an eye on appearing at the 2026 World Cup.

It's not quite clear how much of a stake Modric would take at this stage.

Nor is it clear why the World Cup finalist has decided to get involved in the Swans, who are current 12th in the Championship table.

The move is the latest in a series of big shake-ups within the upper echelons of the club.

Modric said: "This is an exciting opportunity. Swansea has a strong identity, an incredible fanbase and the ambition to compete at the highest level.

"Playing at the highest level, I believe I can provide my experience to the club.

"My goal is to support the club's growth in a positive way and to help to build an exciting future."

Modric's main focus right now is on Real Madrid's Champions League quarter-final second leg at home to Arsenal on Wednesday, but his contract at the Bernabeu is set to expire at the end of this season.

His decision to invest in a football club follows team-mates Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior doing likewise at Ligue 2 outfit Caen and Portuguese side FC Alverca, respectively.

Swansea are currently owned by Andy Coleman, Brett Cravatt, Nigel Morris and Jason Cohen, a group that assumed majority ownership from Jason Levien and Steve Kaplan last November.

"I am excited that Luka has come on board as an investor and co-owner," Swansea chief executive Tom Gorringe said.

"There is no better role model in the game for our players, from the academy right through to the first team.

"His endorsement of our ambition and willingness to support us on our journey will be instrumental as we aim to continue to improve our results on and off the pitch.

"In our conversations, he has demonstrated his passion for the club, his knowledge of how we are performing, and a genuine passion to help us improve.

"I am really looking forward to working with him more closely to drive us forward."

Swansea's most recent accounts, released last month, showed a pre-tax loss of £15.2m for the financial year ending June 2024.

A joint statement from the Swansea board read: "We are delighted that Luka has joined our ownership group.

"From our first discussions, it was clear that there was alignment on our visions and that Luka would be a real asset to our group.

"We'd like to thank Luka and his team for their support through this process, and we look forward to welcoming him to the Swansea.com Stadium to meet you all as soon as possible."