The former Swedish international, who turns 39 in October, rejoined Milan in January and will stay at the San Siro until the end of June 2021.

 

“Today (Monday), Zlatan Ibrahimovic rejoined his teammates and coach Stefano Pioli at Milanello Sports Center, where he took part in his first training session of the season,” the club said in a statement.

 

According to Italian media reports, Ibrahimovic has agreed a seven-million-euro ($8.35-million) annual salary with Milan.

 

He helped Pioli’s side bounce back from a poor first half of last season, scoring 11 goals in 20 games in all competitions to help fire the seven-time European champions to Europa League qualification.

 

Ibrahimovic said at the weekend that he “wanted to help the club return to where they belong”.

 

“For six months, we have done great things but we have not won anything. We must continue and do the same,” he said in a video.

 

The 38-year-old previously played for the Rossoneri from 2010-2012, scoring 56 goals and winning the 2011 Serie A title under Massimiliano Allegri.

 

It had been widely expected that ‘Ibra’ would sign a new deal and he will take the number 11 shirt, having played as Milan’s number 21 last term.

 

He had returned from American MLS outfit Los Angeles Galaxy on a six-month contract with an optional extra year.

Milan finished last season with a 12-match unbeaten streak in Serie A to grab a sixth-place finish, although they still fell short of returning to the Champions League for the first time since 2014.

 

Ibrahimovic has also played for Juventus and Inter Milan in Italy during his illustrious career and starred for Paris Saint-Germain in France and Manchester United in the Premier League.

 

He won four Ligue 1 titles with PSG during a four-year spell in which he became the club’s record goalscorer, a mantle since taken by Edinson Cavani.

 

Ibra’ has also lifted the La Liga trophy with Barcelona in 2010, three league titles with Inter and two Eredivisie crowns while at Ajax.

 

Modric has faced Lionel Messi 21 times and is the only player since 2008 other than Cristiano Ronaldo to beat him to the Ballon d’Or. He knows what it would mean if he leaves.

 

“If it happens it will be a huge loss for the prestige of the league,” he tells AFP. “But we need to go forward. Other players will become stars.

 

“When Ronaldo left, the same thing happened, the life of Real Madrid went on without him and it will be the same for Barcelona and La Liga without Messi.”

After Ronaldo, Real Madrid needed two sacked coaches and the return of the old one to get back on their feet, a recovery still not complete as shown by a second consecutive exit in the Champions League last 16.

 

Messi’s departure, even his unhappiness, would give Madrid an opening, not only to win La Liga again but to establish their own period of supremacy in Spain.

The first step is defending the title they won in July.

“We don’t have a young team but we have an experienced team,” says Modric. “We have young players, who will get better. I don’t know if we will buy players but even if it stays like this, we have enough quality.

“We showed it in La Liga and we know we can do it again. After the suspension, we came back so motivated. We missed football, we missed winning games.

We had worked so hard, I think physically we were the best team in the league and that’s why we won it. It was my second La Liga title and I want to win more.”

 

– Dressing room leader –

 

Modric was arguably Real Madrid’s best player during the 11-game run-in, perhaps benefitting more than anyone from the three-month pause, after a period when he found himself rotated.

 

“I had two injuries that set me back and then other players took their opportunity,” Modric says. “It wasn’t easy for me, but maybe now Zizou sees it differently because I never gave up and in the end I was playing again. I feel well now, I feel fit, I feel motivated.”

He turns 35 next week but Modric still feels instrumental to this Real Madrid, his calm masking an inner-steel that is well-suited to Zidane and perhaps symbolic of the team as a whole.

 

In his autobiography, ‘My Game’, released last month, Modric said Zidane urged him to be more of a leader and he has been supporting Eden Hazard during the Belgian’s injury-ravaged opening year.

 

“Eden is a great guy and a special player,” says Modric. “But he was playing with pain and when you’re on the pitch, people always expect the best. They don’t care if you have little problems.

I spoke to him and said, ‘Eden maybe you need not to play now and recover because next season we need you at your best. This is a season where you’re getting to know everything but next season you need to be 100 per cent because if not, it’s going to be difficult’.

 

“Hopefully he comes back without any problems and then I’m sure he’ll show his potential and why the club bought him because we will need him a lot.”

– Zidane ‘one of the best’ –

 

Hazard retains the confidence of Zidane but the same cannot be said for Gareth Bale, whose prospects look bleaker than ever if he stays.

 

Modric has spent 12 years playing with Bale, four at Tottenham and eight with Madrid, and he is one of those closest to the Welshman in the dressing room.

 

“Gareth is a great, great player,” Modric says. “But his situation is not easy. He always has my support but he needs to decide what is best for him and what he wants to do now with his career.

It was not an easy season for him but it is what it is. Maybe now he needs to get back to his best. Maybe to fight or… We’ll see what happens with him.”

 

Unlike Bale, Modric trusts Zidane absolutely, dismissing those who claim he is a motivator graced with good luck.

 

“He just perfectly understands players,” Modric says. “He is one of the best coaches, definitely.