MADRID — Read Madrid president Florentino Perez has issued a final ultimatum to Tottenham over Luka Modric.
The Spanish champions, who previously refused to pay more than €35 million — which is £27,7 million at current exchange rates — for Modric, are now prepared to go to £30 million, Perez said.
But that is not sufficient to rescue the Croatia midfielder still in limbo, because Spurs are refusing to budge on their £40 million valuation.
Real coach Jose Mourinho has intervened and spoken directly to chairman Daniel Levy to try to end the deadlock, but the Londoners are holding firm — which is making Modric increasingly fed-up and impatient.
Claims from the Modric camp that he was given assurances by Levy that they would allow him to leave this summer were backed up by ex–Spurs boss Harry Redknapp last weekend.
But Tottenham clearly feel that gentleman’s agreement only stands if someone meets their asking price and once again Levy is again living up to his reputation as one of football’s toughest negotiators.
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Modric was forced to stay at Spurs last summer, despite publicly insisting he wanted to leave amid interest from Chelsea.
The Croatian even went AWOL last month to try to force a move, but that tactic seems to have backfired and made Levy even more determined.
It leaves new Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas worrying about his preparations for the new season, as he does not yet know whether or not Modric is definitely going.