The Croatian midfielder signed for the Serie A giants last summer after 13 years at Real Madrid and admits that he was expecting to end his career with Los Blancos.

Modric told Italian publication Corriere della Sera: "Life always surprises you. Things happen that you never thought possible. I was convinced I would end my career at Real Madrid, but instead. But I’ve always thought this: if I ever had another team, it would be Milan. I’m here to win."

The midfielder is still playing at the top level after turning 40 last year but insists that his love for football remains as strong as ever despite all he has achieved during his illustrious career.

Asked for the reason behind his longevity, Modric said: "Love. Loving football, thinking about football, living for football. Football, with family, is the most important thing I have. The secret is passion. Diet and training are secondary. To stay at the top for a long time, you need heart. I’m as happy in training as I was when I played as a child."

The former Ballon d'Or winner also feels that normality has played a role in his career and even revealed that he would have liked to have been a waiter if he didn't make it in football.

Modric said: "I love normality. A normal family, a normal life, the little things. I don’t feel unique. In my life, I’ve never thought, not even for a second, that I was superior to anyone else. If I hadn’t been a footballer, I would have liked to be a waiter."

The six-time Champions League winner credits his parents for teaching him "important values" in life.

He said: "It wasn’t an easy story, but my parents, Stipe and Radojka, instilled in me important values: respecting everyone, remaining humble. My father was a worker, my mother a seamstress. Humility helps, on the pitch and in life.

"My uncle Zeljko was also crucial to me. He and my dad are identical twins, they grew up in symbiosis, they talk ten times a day, and since my uncle doesn’t have any children, we have a special bond."