LONDON — Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy has said that Luka Modric is not for sale “at any price”.
The Croatian has indicated that he wants to join Chelsea, who have tabled a bid said to be worth £22m. But Levy said Spurs were not prepared to sell the 25-year-old midfielder to Chelsea “or any other club”. “We made our stance on this issue abundantly clear in writing to Chelsea,” he added. “They chose to ignore it then made the offer public.”
Spurs released a statement on their website after Modric, who has not submitted a formal transfer request, told the Daily Mail he wanted to leave Spurs but would like to stay in London.
“Chelsea are a big club with an ambitious owner,” he said. “They have great players and they have ambitions to fight for the title and win the Champions League.
“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.
“I have an arrangement with the chairman. When I signed my new contract, he said that, if another club came to sign me, they would consider the offer.” But Levy said Spurs were “building a team for the future to consistently play at the highest level”, and insisted that none of the club’s key players would be sold this summer.
Modric’s comments come only two days after Spurs manager Harry Redknapp said Chelsea’s initial reported bid of £22m for the midfielder was “ridiculous”.
“There are people being sold for £20m who are not fit to lace Luka’s boots,” added Redknapp, who has previously described Modric as “irreplaceable”. Spurs full-back Kyle Walker, currently on England Under-21 duty in Denmark, said Modric would be a “massive loss” if he was sold.
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“He’s hard to get the ball off in training and he’s good to have around, good to give the ball to. “He gets you out of trouble and I think he’s a fantastic player.”
Modric, who arrived at Spurs from Dinamo Zagreb in 2008 in a £16,6m deal, has scored 12 times in 120 games for the London club.
In his second season he was a key figure as Spurs qualified for the Champions League for the first time. Modric signed a new six-year deal at the club only last year. But in an interview with Croatian newspaper Jutarnji List last month, he said: “If an offer comes which is good for Tottenham and for me also, then a transfer is possible.” —BBC Sport
