Modric : Levy 'broke agreement' to let me leave Tottenham

last SG · 2011-06-19T11:20:47+00:00

#1 get a manager #2 decide on the style of football to play #3 get the suitable and capable players to play it As of the last season... 10/11, I feel Chelsea...

charlize SG

If it's not about the money, then players should just say they will accept what they are currently getting when they move to a new club.

You see any player offering to do that?

Y_Shun SG

Heard that Chelsea gonna make another offer at £24 milllion.

I hope it doesn't go over 25m. If not it will be too expensive.

If we are gonna spend 40m, why not go for Sneijder?

zocoss SG

'In respect of Luka Modric, we are not prepared to sell, at any price, to Chelsea Football Club or any other club.

Not for sale: Modric (right) is not heading to Chelsea, according to Tottenham's chairman

Tottenham will not sell midfielder Luka Modric 'at any price, to Chelsea Football Club or any other club', chairman Daniel Levy has said in a statement on the club website.

The 25-year-old has said he wants to leave for Chelsea but will not present a formal transfer request.

Speculation has been rife concerning the Croatia international, with rivals Manchester City and Manchester United reportedly joining the Blues in their pursuit of the player.

It is managerless Chelsea, believed to have already tabled an unsuccessful £22million offer, who appear to offer Modric the most attractive option as he would prefer to remain in the capital.

However, Levy said in a statement: 'I wish to make it absolutely clear, as I have said previously, that none of our key players will be sold this summer. We are building a team for the future to consistently play at the highest level and retaining quality players is crucial to that.

'In respect of Luka Modric, we are not prepared to sell, at any price, to Chelsea Football Club or any other club.

'We made our stance on this issue abundantly clear in writing to Chelsea. They chose to ignore it and then subsequently made the offer public.

'For the avoidance of any doubt, let me reiterate that we shall not enter into any negotiations whatsoever, with any club, regarding Luka.

'We now consider this matter closed.'

Modric does not wish to enrage Spurs fans but is equally eager to chase for silverware and intends to discuss his future when he returns from holiday, with a switch to Stamford Bridge his preferred outcome.

Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp has repeatedly said his prized midfielder is not for sale and would be unwilling to even entertain offers of less than £30million.

But, speaking to the Daily Mail, Modric said: 'If somebody comes to the club and the offer is good for me and acceptable to them, then I want to leave.

'I want to leave Tottenham as friends. I have enjoyed my time there, but now it is right for me to look at another club.

charlize SG

No such thing as "not for sale at any price"

With a lot of money, you can buy even better players.

dragg SG

spurs just want a better offer. and they should.

let RA spend more of his billions.

iceFatboy SG

was reading somewhere about chelsea's approach and pts reductions, which is a load of rubbish to me..

if they really don't want to sell him, all these empty talks won't materialise.

and there is nothing Chelsea won't do to get their players.

zocoss SG

Wanted man: Luka Modric is ready to turn his back on Tottenham

Harry Redknapp has insisted Tottenham cannot afford to sell Luka Modric and must instead strengthen their squad if they want success.

The Croatia midfielder exclusively revealed in Saturday’s Sportsmail that he wished to join Chelsea, but Tottenham boss Redknapp has urged the club to convince Modric he can fulfil his ambitions at White Hart Lane.

Tottenham failed to qualify for the Champions League after reaching the quarter-finals last season and Modric has insisted he wanted to sign for a ‘bigger club’, play in Europe’s premier club competition and win titles.

‘If Tottenham are looking to go anywhere, we can’t be selling Luka.

‘We have to do something to keep him at the club. We can’t afford to sell Luka Modric if we want to be a successful club.

‘We have to show him our ambition, which we will do. If we can add one or two good players to our squad there’s no reason we can’t have another great season.

Tottenham could be a great club for him to stay with for the next few years. That’s what we’re hoping for.

‘He’s a fantastic lad. You’ll never meet a better lad than Luka. I suppose he’s seen a massive contract and the chance to win the Premier League and play in the Champions League and that’s what he wanted.

‘But we want that as well. We want to get back in the Champions League and we need him to help us do that,’ the Spurs boss told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Sportsweek.

Steely determination: Harry Redknapp (left) and Daniel Levy have made their feelings about Modric known

'Don't see all the fuss about Modric wanting a move ... he has done well at Spurs but he needs to play Champions League!' - Arsenal's Jack Wilshere set himself up for a hail of abuse on Twitter when he backed the Croat to quit Spurs yesterday and later told his 'haters' they couldn't 'phase' (sic) him.

Daniel Levy issued a strongly worded statement on Saturday saying Modric was not for sale ‘at any price’ and that none of his key players will be sold this summer.

‘We are building a team for the future to consistently play at the highest level, and retaining quality players is crucial to that,’ he added.

Redknapp said it was vital the chairman kept his word. ‘If Daniel’s saying “no”, he can’t be seen to be going back on that now. He’s made a very strong statement. I wouldn’t see Daniel backtracking on that at any price.’

The Spurs boss also said Chelsea are not alone in their interest in Modric, for whom they have made an initial £22million bid. Manchester City and Manchester United have also been tracking the midfielder, but the 25-year-old is keen to stay in London.

A Spurs source said the club are ‘monitoring’ Chelsea’s public pursuit of Modric, having made their stance ‘abundantly clear’ in writing. But Sportsmail understands an official complaint had not been made to the Premier League this weekend.

Redknapp admitted Chelsea’s interest in the midfielder was ‘difficult to understand’, when the west London club have yet to appoint Carlo Ancelotti’s successor after sacking the Italian on the last day of the season.

The Tottenham boss said: ‘Chelsea are not the only club that have been in for him. There have been other clubs — top clubs. But (the Chelsea interest) is very strange and difficult to understand.

'This has been going on for quite a while, not just this week.It’s been going on for the last three or four weeks, since Carlo Ancelotti lost his job. Somebody else at Chelsea is choosing the players — not the new manager.’

Playing at the highest level: Modric dazzled during Spurs's champions League campaign

Redknapp also played down the suggestion striker Jermain Defoe could leave White Hart Lane, potentially for arch-rivals Arsenal.

The 28-year-old striker told Sportsmail last season he had considered his future after failing to secure a regular place in the Spurs side, but Redknapp rejected the idea, saying: ‘I didn’t see that. I couldn’t see that one happening.’

zocoss SG

Levy tell Modric he would let him rot on the bench than sell him to Chelsea

The Croatian, who craves a move to Chelsea, informed Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy he wanted out in a stormy meeting.

But Levy told Modric, 25, he would let him rot on the bench rather than sell him to the Blues, who have made a £22million bid for his services.

Levy dug his heals in and told Modric he would not be sold at any price.

The Spurs chief insisted he would not entertain any increased bids insisting it would "make no difference".

An insider said: "The gloves are off. Luka reminded Levy that when he signed a new contract there was an agreement he could go if he felt it was better for his career.

"But Levy wasn't interested and told Luka he had to tell the papers he was staying.

"Luka refused and said he would never do that and told Levy he was appalled he was reneging on their deal."

Modric is back in training at Spurs today and will meet boss Harry Redknapp and emphasise his determination to quit.

After meeting Modric, Levy claimed: "Everything was fine. We had a very good conversation and, as I said previously, Luka Modric will not be sold.

"It's the end of it. As I said a few weeks ago there's no further discussion on it.

"I'm sure once he's back with his team-mates everything will be fine. This is not about money, we're not selling our best players."

It is understood Chelsea are prepared to pay Modric £150,000 a week which is almost four times what he is on at Spurs.

Earlier in the day he was asked about his chances of joining Chelsea as he boarded a flight from Zagreb. He said: "Anything is possible."

Redknapp admitted: "It's difficult when crazy sums of money are being bandied about. But we need to keep Luka and all our best players if we are to improve.

"We simply have to get stronger, not weaker."

Bus&Soccer l0v3r (VO3x 1) SG

i wont be surprised if Modric behave lousy next season

zocoss SG

Well, eventually he will come round to it if he does stay. Cos if he wants to play and also not let those playing around him to despise him for a lack of professionalism... he will put it to a side, at least fo a while...

The ball is clearly in Spurs court with him still having a long contract with them (maybe 3 to 4 yrs)... If Spurs really want to make it difficult, they can make him sit on the bench for the whole of next season especially when his salary is so low it won't really hurt them much...

Levy is the guy that is probably the most difficult to deal with in the premier league and Chelsea will find this out very soon... Anyway, given the money on offer, £22m, it's really not that much. Levy could make Modric sit for another 2 yrs than still sell him for that price or maybe even higher considering he is still 25 only.

zocoss SG

• 'Gentleman's agreement' made between chairman and player
• Croatian plans to force through move to Chelsea this summer

Luka Modric

The Tottenham midfielder Luka Modric has reiterated his desire to leave for Chelsea this summer and accused his chairman, Daniel Levy, of going back on a gentleman's agreement between them that he would be allowed to move if a bigger club came in for him.

Chelsea have already had a £22m offer for Modric turned down by Spurs at the end of June, and the Croatian midfielder immediately sought talks with Levy on his return to pre-season training this week.

Levy confirmed after those talks on Thursday that Modric would not be leaving White Hart Lane and that the player understood the club's stance and was happy to remain at the club.

However, Modric told the Croatian newspaper, Sportske Novosti, that he had not considered the possibility of Spurs not allowing him to leave.

"I haven't thought about it at all because [not letting me go] would definitely not be good for anyone. I have already told the chairman that last summer he said we would find a mutually satisfactory agreement if a club like Chelsea came in.

"I hope that eventually he will understand the situation and that we will reach an agreement and go our separate ways in an appropriate manner."

Modric also revealed that in his meeting with the Spurs chairman Levy had said he was happy to let the midfielder spend the season rotting in the reserves if he did not honour his contract.

"A lot has been published in the press about the meeting with Levy, who gave the public a twisted account of what happened. I must say that I am genuinely disappointed about what Levy said to me. He didn't care about what I was telling him. It all only convinced me further that I was right to consider moving on to another club.

"I reminded the chairman of our gentleman's agreement when we were in Dubrovnik last summer and I agreed a contract extension with Tottenham. Then I had an open chat with Levy – that if a bigger club came in with a concrete offer, we would consider it and agree the best solution for all concerned.

"The chairman said, 'OK, we'll sit and talk [about any offers]'. Now Levy doesn't want to talk to me and said there is no possibility that I can leave Spurs.

"He threatened me – he said if I didn't accept the club's stance, they would make me sit on the bench or in the stands."

Modric knows he is highly sought after by the Stamford Bridge club and their new manager, André Villas-Boas.

"There is no doubt that Chelsea want me – they sent a concrete offer to Tottenham. I know that the new Chelsea boss said he wants me in his team. Of course I am flattered by this interest in me, it's a club that all players dream of joining, fighting for every competition available.

"It wasn't a snap decision, I talked a long time with my family and people whose opinions I respect. I thought about it, weighed it all up, and finally decided this was the best option."

Rock^Star SG

I don't think he will cut it at chelsea.....got space in midfield meh? Anyway, of all clubs, why chelsea? They don't have that rich tradition and pedigree like those of other top clubs.

zocoss SG

By Brian Reade

People around Luka Modric claim his predicament is similar to Sami Nasri's and Ashley Young's.

That he wants to move to a "bigger stage" so it's only right to let him. No it's not. They had (or have) one year left on their contract, Modric has five.

Which is why Daniel Levy is showing him that contract and asking where it says he can walk out after honouring 17% of it. Levy isn't thinking of anything other than Spurs, but if he sticks to this stance he will strike a blow for managers and fans everywhere.

Modric's agent is now saying all he and Luka want to do is sort things out by sitting down and talking, presumably about how Spurs can win back his loyalty with another pay rise.

I hope Levy does allow his agent to sit down. On an uncomfortable chair he's pointed at the wall.

And tells him to talk away.

zocoss SG

I don't think he will cut it at chelsea.....got space in midfield meh? Anyway, of all clubs, why chelsea? They don't have that rich tradition and pedigree like those of other top clubs.

Well, basically he wants to move to a club with a better chance of winning something I guess... Of course the salary is also another big pulling factor.

He definitely can make it at Chelsea especially with this new boss who is more keen to play the ball on the ground more than up in the air to Drogba kind...

If he does join them, Lampard's days as a starter could be over...

And why Chelsea? I guess there is nothing to do with traditions and pedigree... Just a better chance of winning and earning more $$$. Also, I guess he wants to move clubs but not move everything else like his house, kids school etc... In other words, he wants to stay in London that's why Chelsea is the best fit for him...

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