Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric finds himself caught in a storm of abuse against him after he spoke out as a witness at a trial against Zdravko Mamic.
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Mamic is one of the most controversial figures in Croatian football, having been accused of taking up to €20 million out of Dinamo Zagreb, where he was club president for a time.
Modric speaking out at Mamic's trial means that he, too, is in the line of fire, with fans branding him ‘Mamic’s whore’ and Luka ‘cash machine’ Modric on banners and graffiti.
It has been claimed that Modric received a sum of money when he was sold from Dinamo to Tottenham in 2008, part of which he then passed on to Mamic in an agreement signed in a contract.
Many fans are angry about the player changing his testimony, which now favours the unpopular Mamic.
Modric, 31, has quickly deteriorated from being the nation’s footballing hero to facing calls for his captaincy to be rescinded in many quarters.