Tottenham will fine Luka Modric £80,000 after refusing to train as he tries to force through move to Real Madrid By Jason Burt, in New YorkLast Updated: 6:16PM BST 21/07/2012 Luka Modric will be fined more than £80,000 after refusing to train as he attempts to finally force through a move from Tottenham Hotspur. The 26-year-old midfielder was, nevertheless, believed to have boarded the team flight to Los Angeles on Saturday as the squad headed off for a pre-season tour to the United States. However Spurs did not release a squad list ahead of the flight and there were claims, from Spain, that the player was threatening to refuse to travel. Modric is now expected to finally hand in a transfer request as he seeks a move to Real Madrid although Spurs insist they will not budge on their valuation of £40million for the Croatian. Because of Spurs’ determination not to lower the price, then the saga is, as with last summer’s attempts to sign Modric by Chelsea, expected to last until the transfer window closes at the end of August. Modric refused to train on Friday, ahead of Saturday’s flight, and will be fined around two weeks wages, a basic of over £80,000 in total, by Spurs’s new head coach Andre Villas-Boas. Modric is still paid a fairly low wage at Spurs after refusing to sign a new contract which would have doubled his salary. Unlike last summer, Spurs are prepared to sell Modric but only if the bid is high enough. They are also aware that Real are not the only clubs interested in Modric with Chelsea once again making inquiries - although Spurs chairman Daniel Levy is adamant that should the player leave he will not stay in the Premier League - and cash-rich Paris St-Germain in the bidding. Real had indicated they would meet Spurs’s asking price but have so far only offered around £27m - including add-ons - although they have also tried to offer players including midfielder Nuri Sahin and defender Ricardo Carvalho. Spurs want to do a cash-only deal and have no interest whatsoever in Carvalho while Villas-Boas wants to pursue other midfield targets - notably Porto’s Joao Moutinho - ahead of Sahin. However Spurs will not meet Porto’s asking price of £24m for Moutinho, with Villas-Boas believing the fee is inflated, and may look elsewhere. Real president Florentino Perez, aware that Modric is prepared to continue to agitate for a move, and that Spurs are contemplating a sale, is unwilling at present to raise his bid substantially. Villas-Boas would happily keep Modric but accepts that the player can be sold as he re-shapes the squad having already signed Gylfi Sigurdsson and Jan Vertonghen. Spurs are still negotiating a deal to sign Emmanuel Adebayor on a permanent basis but personal terms are yet to be agreed. Adebayor is also holding out for a greater portion of the transfer fee, of around £5m, being paid to Manchester City. Spurs are not, as things stand, bidding for France captain Hugo Lloris although Villas-Boas is in the market for another goalkeeper. On their US tour, Spurs play LA Galaxy in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Liverpool in Baltimore a week on Saturday and New York Red Bulls in New York on Tuesday week. -------------------------------------------------- If true my opinion of Modric goes down even more. I know we are trying to get the best deal understandably but I really hope this is not another Berbatov situation.
I'm getting more than a little tired of Ratboy's infantile tantrums. As has been said, he signed the contract, and his agent wasn't alert enough to insert a release clause in it. Therefore, Levy is entitled to hold him to his contract, or only sell at his price. Of course, if he goes on strike, then Levy will have some tough decisions to make!.
So what'll the story be if Modric lines up against the LA Galaxy on Tuesday? Will there be a retraction, or an apology?
He didn't go to America did he? Taking it out on the club is stupid, he shouldn't have taken the contract extension and payrise that comes with it if he's not prepared to see out more than 2 years of a 6 year deal. Someone get on the phone to Tranmere and find out how much of his wages they're going to be able to contribute when we send him out on loan there.
If he does line up, that implies the story of him refusing to board the plane is utter bollocks - and libelous.
Don't know the original source but I got this from the Soccernet "on the move blog" Luka Modric could be fined two weeks' wages by Tottenham after missing training on Friday. The playmaker is thought to be keen to push through a move to Real Madrid, but new Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas is quoted in AS as saying: "I think Modric is wrong. This will go against him. He has worsened the situation with what he is doing and now the chairman is very angry.” Pretty much says it all doesn't it?
Having signed a 6 year contract, Modric showed disdain for the club with his antics last summer. Despite that, the situation was (at least temporarily) resolved and despite that slight we the supporters welcomed him back in the fold, pretty much with open arms. His behaviour now, if confirmed, is beyond the pale and I for one would not want him at the club a day longer than necessary. He has been a very good (not great by any means) player for us the last 4 years, but he is not indispensable. We should move him on as soon as possible, at a good price, to a non-PL club. And if DL has to make a pragmatic decision on the price in order to resolve the situation then so be it. With Ade's transfer still bubbling in the background, this is the only real negative influence on the preparation for the new season and if turning that around costs a couple of £m the it may well be worth it.
If Modric has the support of the players union then he is entitled to go on strike and all Spurs can do is to stop his wages. If on the otherhand, he does not have the support of the players union then Spurs should sue Modric for liquidated damages, i.e. employ an equivalent player for the same period of time that Modric remains on strike/refuses to play for Spurs whilst he is still under contract. Modric could win himself a rather large bill. The situation is getting a little like the Tevez saga at £iteh, I hope Levy handles it in a similar way. Levy is in a better position than Manchini was with Tevez in that the 25 man squad has not been named yet. Levy could choose to leave him out if it runs past the last day of the transfer window. There is a simple solution that would suit all parties (with the exception of RM). Levy could offer Modric a new contract with a £40M buy out clause. If Modric signed it then Levy would not be able to stop him leaving if the right money was offered.
Completely unprofessional, but we've come to expect that, haven't we? If he's so desperate to join Real and they're so desperate to sign him, then they know what to do. Pay the price or piss off.
I know none of us will feel sorry for a footballer and we know how much they are paid etc and all the great "Perks" they get.....but as a professional in any walk of life if you feel you have to move on for your career and achieve your ambitions and you feel like you're being blocked from moving then this will lead some (not all) to try whatever means to get away. Now this doesn't mean i'm siding with Modric as if this is true I think he is being un-professional and disrespectful to the fans and club, yet its blatantly clear he wants to leave and the time is right for us to sell so I would hope Modric will understand the club has every right to be asking for a minimum of 35 million and if a club doesn't match this then Modric will have to stay but if he acts this way then the fans will turn on him.
I hope Levy throws the rat-faced ingrate into the reserves and leaves him there. It'll be worth it in the long run, if only to stop other players screwing us around.
To be fair these situations can't be helped as we get talent like berba and modric before the super clubs get in, these players improve with us and then want to move on (which you cant blame them) so we have to put ourselves in a position to match players ambition if we want to keep world class talent.
It's a vicious circle, unfortunately. Can't progress to the next level with any consistency, so we can't keep our best players, which means... Frustrating.
Unfortunately Luke, he's almost certainly got some avaricious horse's arse of an agent and a retinue of hangers on, all telling him that this is the way to force Levy's hand. I would not be at all surprised to hear that Real themselves are advising him on this. They're wrong, of course, as AVB has already indicated, all they're doing is making Levy angry. Not a smart move!..
