Tottenham have shot down Luka Modric’s hopes of a transfer by declaring the midfielder is staying and the matter is closed.Modric had upped the ante with Spurs by declaring he wants to leave White Hart Lane, preferably a transfer to cross-London rivals Chelsea, saying: “Now it is right for me to look at another club.”
Chelsea had earlier seen a 22-million-pounds bid for Modric rejected out of hand by Tottenham, and had reportedly increased their offer to 25m pounds.
But Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has assured fans the talented Croatia international is essential to Spurs’ plans to get back to the Champions League and will not be sold.
“I wish to make it absolutely clear, as I have said previously, that none of our key players will be sold this summer,” Levy told the club’s official website.
“We are building a team for the future to consistently play at the highest level and retaining quality players is crucial to that.”
“In respect of Luka Modric, we are not prepared to sell, at any price, to Chelsea Football Club or any other club.”
“We made our stance on this issue abundantly clear in writing to Chelsea. They chose to ignore it and then subsequently made the offer public.”
“For the avoidance of any doubt, let me reiterate that we shall not enter into any negotiations whatsoever, with any club, regarding Luka. We now consider this matter closed.”
Earlier, Modric admitted he had his heart set on leaving White Hart Lane, though he wants to stay in London.
“If somebody comes to the club and the offer is good for me and acceptable to them, then I want to leave,” Modric told the Daily Mail.
“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 I won’t ask for a transfer. That would be disrespectful. I hope they can reach an agreement that is satisfactory for everyone.”
Asked about the rejected bid from Tottenham’s cross-town rivals, Modric said: “Chelsea are a big club with an ambitious owner. They have great players and they have ambitions to fight for the title and win the Champions League.”
“I want to stay in London. I am very happy here and so are my family.”
