Luka Modric says he “resented” Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy for blocking a move through to Chelsea having secretly met with Roman Abramovich.
The Croatian midfielder, who arrived in the Premier League in 2008, is among the biggest talents to ever play for Spurs and attracted interest from London rivals Chelsea in the summer of 2011.
As detailed in his autobiography ‘Luka Modric: My Autobiography’, Modric’s agents arranged a meeting for their client with Chelsea owner Abrahmovic on his yacht in Nice, which led to the player telling the media of his desire to leave Spurs.
“[Levy] reprimanded me for publicly announcing I wanted to leave and repeated that Tottenham had no intention of selling at any price,”
“A stressful period followed. The media analysed my status daily; Tottenham fans, understandably, resented that I wanted to leave.”
Spurs resisted ever Chelsea offer that summer and kept hold of Modric for another year until he moved to Real Madrid, where he still plays.
Modric says there is now no hard feelings towards Levy, but feels the chairman “broke his promise” on more than one occasion over his desire for a new challenge after “four wonderful years” with Spurs.
He adds: “Despite all the turbulence, I always had a good relationship with Levy. He was the one who brought me to Tottenham – for a record fee in the club’s history. That only showed how highly he thought of me.
“However, I resented him because on a couple of occasions he had promised to let me move to a bigger club and then broke his promise. For me, one’s promise and one’s word are more important than anything.
“I had proven myself as a player. I didn’t know where I would go from Tottenham. I didn’t know if and when Levy would agree to sell me. But I was convinced it was time to move on, to a new and bigger challenge.”
(London Evening Standard)
