Luka Modric’s illustrious Real Madrid career ended with a painful 4-0 thrashing by Paris St Germain in the Club World Cup semi-finals. Still, the Croatian maestro’s legacy stretches far beyond a single game, manager Xabi Alonso said.

Modric, the 2018 Ballon d’Or winner and the Spanish club’s most decorated player, is set to join AC Milan after playing his last match for Real Madrid at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Wednesday.

Since his arrival from Tottenham Hotspur in 2012, the 39-year-old has played 597 matches and won 28 trophies with Real, including six Champions League titles.

Xabi Alonso who played alongside Modric during his playing career as a teammate in Real Madrid showered praise on the legendary footballer’s contribution to the game and said, “This is not the desired end, it’s a bitter end, but he won’t be remembered for today’s game but for other great ones. He is a legend of world football and of Real Madrid. He will be remembered for many more good things than for the 25 minutes he played today.”

Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois also gave farewell to his teammate with an emotional statement, saying, “Modric always gets a standing ovation, not only from the Madridistas. He is a great player, a great teammate, and we’ll miss him.”

Meanwhile, Xabi Alonso is looking forward to “starting from scratch” with Real Madrid next season after being thrown in at the deep end as coach of the Spanish giants in the Club World Cup.

Alonso was given a reality check on Wednesday as Madrid were eliminated 4-0 by European champions Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-final at the MetLife Stadium.

“PSG are a team which have been built over time, whereas we are practically just beginning,” Alonso said after seeing Real Madrid go two goals behind inside nine minutes.

It was 3-0 before half-time, and PSG added a late fourth as they advanced to Sunday’s final against Chelsea. “We have lots of room for improvement. There are many things that we want to do better,” Alonso added.

“We have to be self-critical. This will tell us things for the future that will help us to compete at a much better level than we did today.” Alonso was appointed at the end of May, taking over from Carlo Ancelotti after a successful two-and-a-half years at Bayer Leverkusen.