Italian Calciomercato revealed that Luka Modrić refused financially more attractive offers from Saudi Arabia, MLS, and Qatar. At the same time, negotiations for Dominik Livaković's return to Zagreb have entered the final phase.
The Croatian transfer window runs until September 7, and this week brings a series of important news: Luka Modrić stays in Milan despite richer offers from elsewhere, Dominik Livaković is close to returning to Dinamo, and the Zagreb club has also addressed its attacking line by bringing in Smail Prevljak and Aleks Stojaković.
According to the Italian media outlet Calciomercato, Luka Modrić received offers from Saudi Arabia, MLS, and Qatar that were financially significantly larger than what Milan offered him. However, money was not a priority for him, the same source states, and Modrić decided to stay at Milan because he believes in the new club project and feels like an indispensable part of the team. The details of those offers, as well as contract amounts, have not been disclosed.
On Friday, a meeting was held in Istanbul between Croatian agent Andy Bara and Fenerbahçe officials regarding the future of goalkeeper Dominik Livaković (31). According to available information, negotiations are still ongoing, but Turkish newspaper Sabah writes that Fenerbahçe has reached an agreement with Dinamo regarding the goalkeeper's transfer. According to this source, Livaković would return to Zagreb for €5 million, which is less than the amount Fenerbahçe paid Dinamo three years ago, when they spent €6.6 million for him. Dinamo has not officially confirmed this information at the time of publication.
On Thursday, GNK Dinamo Zagreb finalized the arrival of striker Smail Prevljak (31) from Istra 1961. The Zagreb club will pay the Pula-based club a fee of €800,000, which is a compromise between Dinamo's initial offer of €500,000 and Istra's requested €1 million. Prevljak signs a two-year contract with an option for an additional year. He arrives as a replacement for Algerian Monsef Bakrar (25), who is leaving for Egyptian club Al Ahly for €3 million, with a possible €500,000 in bonuses.
At the same time, Dinamo has almost finalized the arrival of 22-year-old Slovenian international Aleks Stojaković from Lokomotiva, for whom they will pay a fee of €750,000. A medical examination in Maksimir revealed an injury that will require Stojaković to take a break for several months, but according to available information, this will not jeopardize the transfer. The exact nature of the injury has not been disclosed, except that it does not cause the player pain or interfere with his training, but requires several months of recovery. Dinamo coach Mario Kovačević sees Stojaković as a long-term solution.
Famous football insider Fabrizio Romano reminded today of the news from June that Joško Gvardiol (24) signed a new contract with Manchester City, binding him to the club until June 2031. The Manchester club has not yet officially confirmed this information, but Romano states that the signing is a matter of time. According to the unofficial salary source Capology, Gvardiol has been earning around €15 million annually so far, and with the new contract he will receive a higher salary, but the exact amount has not been disclosed. Transfermarkt values him at €70 million. The contract extension has silenced rumors about a potential move to Real Madrid or Bayern Munich. In the past season, Gvardiol only played 25 matches due to a broken leg sustained in January, and he was sidelined for four months.
On the domestic scene, 21-year-old goalkeeper Borna Buljan has signed for Dugopolje, a club from the Split hinterland that finished last season in fourth place in the First NL. Buljan was the first-choice goalkeeper for the generation of Hajduk's junior team that sensationally reached the final of the UEFA Youth League in 2023, where they lost to AZ with a score of 0-5. At the end of the 2023/24 season, he played in eight consecutive matches for Hajduk's first team, conceding eight goals and keeping two clean sheets.
