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Luka Modric and Swansea City: How did he become co-owner and what will his role be?
Luka Modric and Swansea City: How did he become co-owner and what will his role be?
Stuart James
Mario Cortegana
Stuart James and Mario Cortegana
April 21, 2025Updated 7:16 pm GMT+1
“Hi Swansea fans, I’m Luka Modric and I’m excited to be part of the journey.”
When Modric said those words last Monday, while holding a Swansea City-branded football in his hands under the banner of a “club update” on social media, it was a rub-your-eyes moment. A legend of the game and the most decorated player in Real Madrid’s history was joining a football club in the south-west of Wales, and who are mid-table in the second-tier Championship, as an investor and co-owner?
“This is an exciting opportunity, Swansea has a strong identity, an incredible fanbase, and the ambition to compete at the highest level,” Modric continued.
But what is the story behind this story?
Over the past few days, The Athletic has spoken to as many people as possible to try to find out the answer to that question and also to explain what all of this means for (and we never expected to write these words in the same sentence) Luka Modric, Real Madrid and Swansea City.
So, how did this come about?
Brett Cravatt and Jason Cohen, Swansea’s controlling owners, were on the lookout for a world-class player to join them as an investor, to help raise the profile of the club internationally, drive improvements on the pitch and give their project credibility.
NFL great Tom Brady’s involvement at Birmingham City – the seven-time Super Bowl winner is a minority investor in the third-tier club, who have just won promotion to the Championship – provided a template of sorts elsewhere in the English Football League. Then, of course, there is the Wrexham story. But Modric – an iconic sportsman and a current footballer, too – was different.
He appeared on Swansea’s radar after Cravatt, a Los Angeles-based businessman, was introduced to the Croatia international and Borja Couce, his trusted advisor, via a mutual friend last October. A former winner of the Ballon d’Or — the award recognising the best footballer on the planet in a given year — Modric is universally popular and highly respected. In short, he ticked every box for Swansea.
Although Modric’s priority is to carry on playing for Madrid for as long as possible, the 39-year-old had already started to think about becoming involved in the business side of sport before Swansea reached out. Cravatt’s proposal – investment and co-ownership, plus the potential to be involved in football operations – was immediately intriguing to him.
Modric didn’t need to type ‘Swansea City’ into Google. He is, in the words of those close to him, a football geek who is constantly watching matches, including in the Championship. Swansea was a club that he knew well (he played against them twice for Tottenham Hotspur, his previous club) and he remembered their distinctive style of play when they were first promoted to the Premier League in 2011.
Modric played against Swansea’s Joe Allen, still on the club’s books, in 2012 (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
The timing was ideal in the sense that Cravatt was just about to increase his shareholding at Swansea as part of a takeover that went through in November. Across multiple video-call conversations over the months that followed, Modric and his team were able to see just how serious the new ownership group are about trying to make Swansea successful again on and off the pitch, and started to develop a close relationship with them.
At the same time, Modric was always conscious of showing respect to Madrid and keeping the club informed before taking things further with Swansea.
At the beginning of March, Richard Montague, Swansea’s recently appointed director of football, and Tom Gorringe, the new chief executive officer, hosted Couce, who is an agent as well as Modric’s advisor, for a Championship match against Middlesbrough (Swansea won, 1-0) and also showed him around the city, a 45-minute drive from Cardiff, the Welsh capital.
The deal was actually agreed some time ago. It was just a case of finding the right moment for both parties to make the news public. Modric’s main focus, understandably, is playing for Madrid and that delayed things a little.
Although nothing has been said officially about the size of Modric’s investment in Swansea, The Athletic has learnt he has acquired a stake that is around five per cent. From his point of view, it’s seen as a great business opportunity. As for Swansea, they are understandably thrilled.
Will Modric be actively involved?
First things first. Modric is not going to be pulling the strings alongside fellow veteran Joe Allen in Swansea’s midfield next season. He won’t require an office at the club’s training ground, either.
He will, however, be much more than a famous name who is attached to the club on day one and disappears from view thereafter. The picture of this deal that emerges from both sides is that Modric is genuinely passionate about the project — fascinated to learn more about the business side of the game, but also keen to help in any way by passing on his football expertise and using his influence to drive Swansea’s ambitions.
The plan is for Modric to help with player recruitment and also provide advice at the highest level.
The Swansea.com stadium, home of Swansea City (Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
There are obvious commercial benefits brought by a player with Modric’s track record and profile (28 trophies and counting with Madrid, and 37.2million Instagram followers). Having been voted the best player at the 2018 World Cup, where Croatia lost to France in the final, he has the potential to attract new sponsors globally as well as strengthen agreements with existing brands.
That commercial element is hugely important.
Swansea announced a pre-tax loss of £15.2million in the last financial year, on the back of a £17.9m loss the year before. There’s an acceptance inside the club that there’s a limit to how much they can grow revenue domestically. Realistically, Swansea have to appeal to an international audience to make serious inroads into that financial deficit and, at the same time, develop a much better player trading model.
Modric, in theory, can help with both.
What does the future hold for him at Madrid?
Modric is on a one-year contract with Madrid that expires in the summer. His priority is to renew and sign up for a 14th season with the Spanish club.
Incredibly for someone who celebrates their 40th birthday in September, Modric has featured in 50 of Madrid’s 54 matches this season, and played in another eight games for Croatia (taking him to 186 national-team appearances in his career). He also believes that he’s fully capable of carrying on playing at the highest level for at least another year. Madrid, however, have not given him any indication yet as to whether they feel the same way.
Within the club, Modric commands huge respect. He is the ultimate professional and everyone at Madrid speaks highly of him.
In October, at the age of 39 years and 40 days, Modric became the oldest player ever to feature for Madrid in an official match when he appeared as a substitute against Celta Vigo, surpassing another great, Ferenc Puskas. Most significantly, he has won more trophies (28) with Madrid than any other player in their history.
Modric’s record as a player is immaculate (Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
Towards the end of last season, Modric made it clear during discussions with Florentino Perez, the Madrid president, that creating more history with the club, rather than money, was his priority. He ended up signing for another 12 months and taking a significant pay cut. Modric will sit down with Perez for face-to-face talks again at the end of this season and hope for a similar outcome.
Right now, though, it’s unclear what the fallout will be from the club’s chastening Champions League exit, where they lost home and away against Arsenal.
If Madrid opt for revolution rather than evolution this summer, with head coach Carlo Ancelotti already expected to move on, it could spell the end for Modric at the Bernabeu, too. The ideal scenario for him is that he signs up for another year at Madrid, taking him up to the 2026 World Cup (assuming Croatia qualify).
What else can you tell us about Swansea City and their owners?
Currently in 11th place in the Championship, Swansea are one of four Welsh clubs playing across the three divisions of the EFL (English Football League), along with Cardiff City, their biggest rivals and also in the second tier, Wrexham, in League One but pushing for promotion to the Championship, and Newport County of fourth-tier League Two. Swansea have been in their current division since their relegation from the Premier League in 2018.
They previously enjoyed seven consecutive seasons in the top flight and for a period became synonymous with an attractive style of play that carried them to the first and only major trophy in their history (the League Cup in 2013).
Swansea celebrate winning the League Cup in 2013, their only major trophy (Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Those days, however, feel like a long time ago.
Although Swansea reached the Championship play-off final in 2021, 90 minutes away from returning to the big time, they have not been close to mounting a promotion challenge since. Indeed, this season threatened to bring a relegation battle, but an impressive upturn in results has followed manager Luke Williams’ departure in February. Interim replacement Alan Sheehan is now a serious contender for the permanent job (an appointment to consult Modric on, perhaps).
Off the field, however, there remains plenty of work to do, both in terms of making the club more self-sustainable and rebuilding trust with the fanbase – average attendances at their 21,000-capacity stadium this season are just above 15,000, the lowest since 2009.
The change in ownership in November has sparked hope of a fresh start. After eight turbulent years in charge, Jason Levien and Steve Kaplan sold their majority stake to Cravatt, Cohen, Nigel Morris and Andy Coleman, all of whom were existing shareholders.
Co-founders of the private equity firm Magellan Equities, Cravatt and Cohen are now driving Swansea forward and are the key decision-makers.
Interestingly, Cravatt has developed a close friendship with Ben Davies, the Tottenham Hotspur and Wales international defender, after being introduced to him by Steve Nash, an NBA legend and a big Tottenham fan. Cravatt and Nash both live in Manhattan Beach, a Los Angeles suburb, and, coincidentally, the latter’s mother grew up in Swansea.
As for Davies, he was born locally and came through Swansea’s youth academy, spending a decade with them before joining Spurs, so knows both the club and city well. Cravatt has a great deal of respect for the 31-year-old and often uses him as a sounding board.
How have Swansea fans reacted to all this?
With a mixture of excitement, disbelief and glee.
For the majority, it’s been the kind of week where you walk around with a spring in your step and a smile on your face, occasionally shaking your head at the madness of it all.
Unsurprisingly, social media has had a field day. Modric has been mocked-up anywhere and everywhere around Swansea, including at Rossi’s, the takeaway that’s just across the road from the stadium and a popular spot with fans on a matchday.
Another picture showed Modric outside Sam’s Cafe & Restaurant, a Swansea institution where Prince William once asked for chocolate sprinkles on a scoop of vanilla.
If all of this sounds slightly bonkers, that’s because it is. Modric is footballing royalty and nobody expected him to be part of Swansea City’s journey.
Luka Modric and Swansea City: How did he become co-owner and what will his role be?
Stuart James
Mario Cortegana
Stuart James and Mario Cortegana
April 21, 2025Updated 7:16 pm GMT+1
“Hi Swansea fans, I’m Luka Modric and I’m excited to be part of the journey.”
When Modric said those words last Monday, while holding a Swansea City-branded football in his hands under the banner of a “club update” on social media, it was a rub-your-eyes moment. A legend of the game and the most decorated player in Real Madrid’s history was joining a football club in the south-west of Wales, and who are mid-table in the second-tier Championship, as an investor and co-owner?
“This is an exciting opportunity, Swansea has a strong identity, an incredible fanbase, and the ambition to compete at the highest level,” Modric continued.
But what is the story behind this story?
Over the past few days, The Athletic has spoken to as many people as possible to try to find out the answer to that question and also to explain what all of this means for (and we never expected to write these words in the same sentence) Luka Modric, Real Madrid and Swansea City.
So, how did this come about?
Brett Cravatt and Jason Cohen, Swansea’s controlling owners, were on the lookout for a world-class player to join them as an investor, to help raise the profile of the club internationally, drive improvements on the pitch and give their project credibility.
NFL great Tom Brady’s involvement at Birmingham City – the seven-time Super Bowl winner is a minority investor in the third-tier club, who have just won promotion to the Championship – provided a template of sorts elsewhere in the English Football League. Then, of course, there is the Wrexham story. But Modric – an iconic sportsman and a current footballer, too – was different.
He appeared on Swansea’s radar after Cravatt, a Los Angeles-based businessman, was introduced to the Croatia international and Borja Couce, his trusted advisor, via a mutual friend last October. A former winner of the Ballon d’Or — the award recognising the best footballer on the planet in a given year — Modric is universally popular and highly respected. In short, he ticked every box for Swansea.
Although Modric’s priority is to carry on playing for Madrid for as long as possible, the 39-year-old had already started to think about becoming involved in the business side of sport before Swansea reached out. Cravatt’s proposal – investment and co-ownership, plus the potential to be involved in football operations – was immediately intriguing to him.
Modric didn’t need to type ‘Swansea City’ into Google. He is, in the words of those close to him, a football geek who is constantly watching matches, including in the Championship. Swansea was a club that he knew well (he played against them twice for Tottenham Hotspur, his previous club) and he remembered their distinctive style of play when they were first promoted to the Premier League in 2011.
Modric played against Swansea’s Joe Allen, still on the club’s books, in 2012 (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
The timing was ideal in the sense that Cravatt was just about to increase his shareholding at Swansea as part of a takeover that went through in November. Across multiple video-call conversations over the months that followed, Modric and his team were able to see just how serious the new ownership group are about trying to make Swansea successful again on and off the pitch, and started to develop a close relationship with them.
At the same time, Modric was always conscious of showing respect to Madrid and keeping the club informed before taking things further with Swansea.
At the beginning of March, Richard Montague, Swansea’s recently appointed director of football, and Tom Gorringe, the new chief executive officer, hosted Couce, who is an agent as well as Modric’s advisor, for a Championship match against Middlesbrough (Swansea won, 1-0) and also showed him around the city, a 45-minute drive from Cardiff, the Welsh capital.
The deal was actually agreed some time ago. It was just a case of finding the right moment for both parties to make the news public. Modric’s main focus, understandably, is playing for Madrid and that delayed things a little.
Although nothing has been said officially about the size of Modric’s investment in Swansea, The Athletic has learnt he has acquired a stake that is around five per cent. From his point of view, it’s seen as a great business opportunity. As for Swansea, they are understandably thrilled.
Will Modric be actively involved?
First things first. Modric is not going to be pulling the strings alongside fellow veteran Joe Allen in Swansea’s midfield next season. He won’t require an office at the club’s training ground, either.
He will, however, be much more than a famous name who is attached to the club on day one and disappears from view thereafter. The picture of this deal that emerges from both sides is that Modric is genuinely passionate about the project — fascinated to learn more about the business side of the game, but also keen to help in any way by passing on his football expertise and using his influence to drive Swansea’s ambitions.
The plan is for Modric to help with player recruitment and also provide advice at the highest level.
The Swansea.com stadium, home of Swansea City (Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
There are obvious commercial benefits brought by a player with Modric’s track record and profile (28 trophies and counting with Madrid, and 37.2million Instagram followers). Having been voted the best player at the 2018 World Cup, where Croatia lost to France in the final, he has the potential to attract new sponsors globally as well as strengthen agreements with existing brands.
That commercial element is hugely important.
Swansea announced a pre-tax loss of £15.2million in the last financial year, on the back of a £17.9m loss the year before. There’s an acceptance inside the club that there’s a limit to how much they can grow revenue domestically. Realistically, Swansea have to appeal to an international audience to make serious inroads into that financial deficit and, at the same time, develop a much better player trading model.
Modric, in theory, can help with both.
What does the future hold for him at Madrid?
Modric is on a one-year contract with Madrid that expires in the summer. His priority is to renew and sign up for a 14th season with the Spanish club.
Incredibly for someone who celebrates their 40th birthday in September, Modric has featured in 50 of Madrid’s 54 matches this season, and played in another eight games for Croatia (taking him to 186 national-team appearances in his career). He also believes that he’s fully capable of carrying on playing at the highest level for at least another year. Madrid, however, have not given him any indication yet as to whether they feel the same way.
Within the club, Modric commands huge respect. He is the ultimate professional and everyone at Madrid speaks highly of him.
In October, at the age of 39 years and 40 days, Modric became the oldest player ever to feature for Madrid in an official match when he appeared as a substitute against Celta Vigo, surpassing another great, Ferenc Puskas. Most significantly, he has won more trophies (28) with Madrid than any other player in their history.
Modric’s record as a player is immaculate (Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
Towards the end of last season, Modric made it clear during discussions with Florentino Perez, the Madrid president, that creating more history with the club, rather than money, was his priority. He ended up signing for another 12 months and taking a significant pay cut. Modric will sit down with Perez for face-to-face talks again at the end of this season and hope for a similar outcome.
Right now, though, it’s unclear what the fallout will be from the club’s chastening Champions League exit, where they lost home and away against Arsenal.
If Madrid opt for revolution rather than evolution this summer, with head coach Carlo Ancelotti already expected to move on, it could spell the end for Modric at the Bernabeu, too. The ideal scenario for him is that he signs up for another year at Madrid, taking him up to the 2026 World Cup (assuming Croatia qualify).
What else can you tell us about Swansea City and their owners?
Currently in 11th place in the Championship, Swansea are one of four Welsh clubs playing across the three divisions of the EFL (English Football League), along with Cardiff City, their biggest rivals and also in the second tier, Wrexham, in League One but pushing for promotion to the Championship, and Newport County of fourth-tier League Two. Swansea have been in their current division since their relegation from the Premier League in 2018.
They previously enjoyed seven consecutive seasons in the top flight and for a period became synonymous with an attractive style of play that carried them to the first and only major trophy in their history (the League Cup in 2013).
Swansea celebrate winning the League Cup in 2013, their only major trophy (Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Those days, however, feel like a long time ago.
Although Swansea reached the Championship play-off final in 2021, 90 minutes away from returning to the big time, they have not been close to mounting a promotion challenge since. Indeed, this season threatened to bring a relegation battle, but an impressive upturn in results has followed manager Luke Williams’ departure in February. Interim replacement Alan Sheehan is now a serious contender for the permanent job (an appointment to consult Modric on, perhaps).
Off the field, however, there remains plenty of work to do, both in terms of making the club more self-sustainable and rebuilding trust with the fanbase – average attendances at their 21,000-capacity stadium this season are just above 15,000, the lowest since 2009.
The change in ownership in November has sparked hope of a fresh start. After eight turbulent years in charge, Jason Levien and Steve Kaplan sold their majority stake to Cravatt, Cohen, Nigel Morris and Andy Coleman, all of whom were existing shareholders.
Co-founders of the private equity firm Magellan Equities, Cravatt and Cohen are now driving Swansea forward and are the key decision-makers.
Interestingly, Cravatt has developed a close friendship with Ben Davies, the Tottenham Hotspur and Wales international defender, after being introduced to him by Steve Nash, an NBA legend and a big Tottenham fan. Cravatt and Nash both live in Manhattan Beach, a Los Angeles suburb, and, coincidentally, the latter’s mother grew up in Swansea.
As for Davies, he was born locally and came through Swansea’s youth academy, spending a decade with them before joining Spurs, so knows both the club and city well. Cravatt has a great deal of respect for the 31-year-old and often uses him as a sounding board.
How have Swansea fans reacted to all this?
With a mixture of excitement, disbelief and glee.
For the majority, it’s been the kind of week where you walk around with a spring in your step and a smile on your face, occasionally shaking your head at the madness of it all.
Unsurprisingly, social media has had a field day. Modric has been mocked-up anywhere and everywhere around Swansea, including at Rossi’s, the takeaway that’s just across the road from the stadium and a popular spot with fans on a matchday.
Another picture showed Modric outside Sam’s Cafe & Restaurant, a Swansea institution where Prince William once asked for chocolate sprinkles on a scoop of vanilla.
If all of this sounds slightly bonkers, that’s because it is. Modric is footballing royalty and nobody expected him to be part of Swansea City’s journey.
