With Wednesday’s midnight deadline now fast approaching and Daniel Levy’s continued intransigent stance against Chelsea, it is high time that Luka Modric and his agent now also played hard ball.
The Spurs’ Chairman has now well and truly painted himself into a corner and has made this a personal issue between himself and the player, something that Modric obviously wished to avoid. ONLY Modric and anyone present could know of the verbal conversation and gentleman’s agreement in Croatia last summer, prior to the player signing a new five-year contract extension.
It seems difficult to believe however, that the diminutive Croat would make such a story up, that there was a verbal agreement between Levy and the player to listen to offers from a bigger club should they arrive. By ‘bigger’ and without the footballing testosterone fuelled debate, one imagines the word to mean ‘more successful’ football club, thus Chelsea football club, who are in the top four, whereas Spurs are not in that elite company.
Both Modric and his agent obviously now realise that Levy is not a man to be trusted, and that before signing that contract, ‘the agreement’ should have been written into the said contract, which would have nullified this nasty saga. Realising their mistake, it is now time that Modric and his people either did the business or got off of the pot and capitulated. Being of Croatian stock, where blood feuds could last between parties for centuries, Modric needs to now point a gun (metaphorically speaking) at Levy’s confused if not stubborn head.
Being under contract to Spurs now offers Moderic a limited response, but first of all he could make a written and very public demand for a transfer away from the club. At the same time he could suggest that all the time Levy is Chairman, that he is no longer prepared to wear the Tottenham shirt and that if his imminent transfer is not agreed to that he demands the club send him out on loan, abroad if necessary.
If Modric himself wanted to be stubborn, he could demand a loan move to a club back in Croatia, where he would still enjoy a very high lifestyle for himself and his family. No one can force another individual to play/work for someone else in this day and age as slavery was abolished in Europe a long time ago. Yes, Levy could respond by letting the player rot in the reserves or sending him out to a backwater club on loan somewhere, but look at the reality of the situation.
Levy is the Chairman of a plc and as such is duty bound to act in the shareholders interests. By allowing the player to rot in the reserves, he still has to pay the wages of a depreciating asset. By loaning him out to a second tier club abroad, Spurs would likely have to continue subsidising the players wages, unless of course he were loaned out to a top Serie A club who could more than compete with Spurs punitive wage structure. To continue with his current stance would definitely jeopardise Levy’s own position as Chairman should Spurs not improve on their last seasons position in the Premiership, with an already reduced income base from their lack of Champions league football. Levy would be left with the choice of either shooting himself in the foot (job wise) or looking foolish to the wider sports public by letting the player leave after being so adamant he would be going nowhere. If the latter were the case, he would only have himself and his ridiculous attitude to blame for painting himself into this corner in the first place.
All top clubs lose players like this from time to time. United had it with Ronaldo, Chelsea experienced the same with Arjen Robben, as did Arsenal with Adebayor and more recently with Fabregas. No none of us as fans like it, but the reality is, do we really want a player playing for us who openly admits to wanting to leave and play for someone else?
Luka Modric needs to stand up for himself and be counted if he really wants the move to Chelsea to come off, OR pull on a Spurs shirt this weekend and forget his and his fore fathers in Croatia’s principles‘. One way or the other, it is now time and your move Luka!
By Alan Frank