Luka Modric has revealed that he was close to joining one of Tottenham’s London rivals before the North London club secured his services in 2008.
Many great players have graced the pitch at White Hart Lane over the years, but not too many of them oozed as much class as Luka Modric did.
The midfielder was the heartbeat of Harry Redknapp’s Spurs side, which qualified for the Champions League for the first time in 2010 and played some scintillating football.
Since leaving the Lilywhites, he has secured his legacy as one of the greatest players of this generation, having won the Ballon d’Or and six Champions League titles at Real Madrid.
Luka Modric admits he wanted to join Chelsea before Tottenham came calling
At 40 years of age, the midfield maestro is still going strong at the highest level, now plying his trade at AC Milan, whom he joined during the summer transfer window.
The former Tottenham man has now explained that Chelsea tried to sign him before their London rivals did, only for Dinamo Zagreb to turn down the Blues’ approach.
Modric told Sportske Novosti: “I didn’t mind staying longer because I wanted to stay at Dinamo, but I felt guilty, I wanted to do something in Europe.
“But the first offer: Čarli leaves, my best friend. The second offer: Dudu leaves. You look at ‘so why if there’s talk that we want to do something big?!’ But I still wanted to stay, I enjoyed Dinamo, I had a good time.
“But then the half-season came and Vukojević and someone else left, so I thought what to do, I got angry and got into a small conflict with the club because I wanted to leave. Then Chelsea appeared, the club didn’t want to let me go, and when Tottenham contacted me in June, I immediately said I was leaving.”
Modric thankful to Daniel Levy for blocking Chelsea move
That was not the only time that Chelsea tried to sign the midfielder, as the West London club also made a move to prise him away from White Hart Lane in 2011.
Daniel Levy held firm and refused to let Modric go, which, in hindsight, the Real Madrid legend is thankful for, as it led to a move to the Santiago Bernabeu 12 months later.
Modric says about his failed Chelsea move in 2011: “I wanted to go, maybe I shouldn’t have said it, but I wanted to make a move. Tottenham were tough, I had a frank conversation with the chairman, and he made it clear that there was no chance of them letting me go.
“And I carried on as if nothing was happening. It turned out even better because there probably wouldn’t have been Real Madrid if I had gone to Chelsea then, at least not soon.”