Tottenham’s Luka Modric Joins Real Madrid

The Tottenham Hotspur and Luka Modric saga has finally drawn to a close with the player joining Real Madrid for a fee of £29.3 million. For the second successive summer, there has been conflict between the club and the player with protracted transfer negotiations. Last year, it was Chelsea, managed by Andre Villas-Boas, who were the player’s desired destination but Chairman, Daniel Levy, held firm and refused to accept the offers which came from the Stamford Bridge club. Relations between the player, the club and chairman were at a low ebb but Modric who had initially been unavailable for Spurs, last August, returned to the team and played his part in Tottenham’s exciting play from September through to January when they were challenging the two Manchester clubs in the title race.

It was anticipated that Modric would once again look to move this summer and Tottenham’s failure to reach the Champions League further fueled his cause with a move to Spain and Real Madrid, his preferred option this time. At the end of the season, Modric said that a decision would be made after the Euro 2012 Championships, always an ominous sign.

"“I will decide about my future after the Euros. I will make the decision where to continue my career. I’m ready for the big tests.”"

It was clear that Real Madrid wanted to sign the player but Daniel Levy refused to roll over and accept their initial offers. In mid-July, when Modric was expected to return to preseason training he refused to travel to America on the club’s tour and relations again deteriorated. He played no part in the preparations for the new season and after a long process the two clubs have eventually reached agreement with the announcement by Tottenham.

Guillem Balague, a respected football journalist and broadcaster, tweeted today:

"“I don’t think it’s by chance that Real Madrid lose and they end up with a new top player the next day. Spurs have cleverly used the situation.”"

Modric at Tottenham

Luka Modric joined Tottenham in 2008 from Dinamo Zagreb for a fee of £16.5 million and has made 127 League appearances for the club, scoring 13 goals. He has a further 32 Cup and European appearances with 4 goals. After struggling in the early days to cope with the intensity of the Premier League, Modric became a vital member of the Spurs midfield and was virtually an ever-present during his time at White Hart Lane apart from the period out with serious injury in the first half of season 2009-10. He has played for Croatia on 57 occasions and scored 8 goals. With Modric’s departure, the little Croatian enclave at Spurs is no longer, his good pals, Vedran Corluka and Niko Kranjcar, having moved on earlier in the summer.

Partnership Agreement with Real

Tottenham also announced that they have signed a partnership agreement with Real Madrid in respect of players, coaching, best practices and commercial relationships. Spurs have a number of similar agreements in place with clubs around the world.

‘The Time is Right’

Luka Modric was good for Tottenham but Tottenham was also good for Modric. It has suited Tottenham that Modric has moved to a Spanish club rather than joining another Premier League team, something Spurs wanted to avoid at all costs. Thanks for your contribution over the past four seasons now we can all move on and Andre Villas-Boas will, hopefully, be able to sign a replacement of his choice to provide creativity in central midfield as Tottenham continue to look for their first win of the season.

How Good was Modric?

Many regard Modric as Tottenham’s best player but was he as good as that? I never was aware of him dominating or controlling games in the way some top midfield players do. There were class passes and occasional superb strikes for a goal, not least his last one against Bolton Wanderers last May, but is he a top class midfielder who will be a benefit to the Real Madrid team?