Real Madrid celebrated winning their 35th La Liga title on Saturday after defeating Espanyol 4-0 to seal the crown with four rounds of action remaining.
It was a convincing victory to secure a commanding title triumph and it started a long evening of celebrations in the Spanish capital. After receiving the title on the pitch after the game – the first time they had lifted the trophy at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium since 2007 – the celebrations began in front of their fans before being taken elsewhere in the city.
As is tradition at Los Blancos, any title success is celebrated at the Plaza de Cibeles in the city to allow large masses of fans to celebrate the triumph with their heroes. As planned, the team bus left the Santiago Bernabeu to make its journey to the central destination in the Spanish capital which was lined with fans of the club who were rejoicing in the celebrations.
While the Real Madrid players and staff were involved in the celebrations, nobody was enjoying the occasion more than veteran midfielder Luka Modric. The Croatian midfield maestro was celebrating his 18th success in his decade-long stint at the club but only the third league title since making the switch from Tottenham.
Modric was clearly in fantastic spirits and such was his enthusiasm to be more involved, he even made the request to the bus driver if he would be allowed to take the wheel. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this request was shut down from the driver – but it did not stop the midfielder staying alongside him for several minutes at the front of the bus to wave to the fans.
It was an open-top bus that was driving through the streets of the Spanish capital with the players and staff all positioned on the upper deck, to wave to the fans and parade the league trophy. Yet Modric went downstairs to make the cheeky request to the driver.
Have Your Say! Where does Modric rank in football's greatest ever midfielders? Tell us what you think here.
While he was not able to take the wheel, Modric was allowed to honk the horn and sit alongside the driver in order to help generate more excitement on the streets. Clearly enjoying himself, Modric waved and made gestures to the supporters.
It capped a wonderful day for Real Madrid, with two first half goals from Rodrygo Goes setting them on course to a comfortable victory to seal the title as Marco Asensio and second half substitute Karim Benzema found the net in the second half.
