Post by spurstillidie on Jun 18, 2011 22:44:19 GMT
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy on Saturday ordered Chelsea to drop their pursuit of Luka Modric, insisting the wantaway midfielder was not for sale "at any price" to any club.
Modric has stunned Spurs supporters by declaring he wants to leave White Hart Lane, and will have enraged some by announcing Stamford Bridge as his preferred destination.
The Croatia star's comments came days after Tottenham rejected a £22million offer from Chelsea - a bid ridiculed by manager Harry Redknapp, who has repeatedly insisted the player is not for sale.
And Levy has no intention of caving in to Modric's request, even if the Blues returned with a mega-money offer.
He said: "I wish to make it absolutely clear, as I have said previously, that none of our key players will be sold this summer.
"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."
Chelsea this afternoon branded Levy's claim they had leaked details of their bid for Modric as "nonsense".
Clubs have always struggled to keep wantaway players, with Spurs forced to sell several of their star names in recent years.
Comparisons have been drawn between the Modric saga and Dimitar Berbatov's departure to Old Trafford three years ago but it is understood Tottenham view the two matters completely differently.
They had risked losing Berbatov for next to nothing as he was close to being able to buy out his contract under the Webster ruling, whereas Modric still has five years remaining on the deal he signed last summer.
The 25-year-old has also stated he would not put in a transfer request, while Levy said: "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."
The player himself earlier revealed he intended to discuss his future when he returned from holiday, insisting he did not wish to enrage Spurs fans but expressing his desire to chase silverware.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Modric said: "If somebody comes to the club and the offer is good for me and acceptable to them, then I want to leave.
"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.
"I won't ask for a transfer, no. That would be disrespectful. I hope they can reach an agreement that is satisfactory for everyone.
"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."
Modric said his desire for change was purely a professional one and reiterated his gratitude for Spurs and their followers.
"I don't want to have an argument with Tottenham," he said.
"The supporters have been very good to me and I have enjoyed my time playing for the club, but it is for football that players leave clubs and move.
"It has happened to Tottenham before. It is normal for a player to dream about playing for a bigger club."
Spurs full-back Kyle Walker, currently on England Under-21 duty in Denmark, admitted Modric would be a "massive loss" but remained hopeful he would stay.
Asked how big a gap the former Dinamo Zagreb man would leave if he departed, Walker replied: "He'd be a massive loss.
"But, hopefully, Spurs is not a selling club and hopefully they keep hold of him and keep going forward.
Walker, who has had loan spells with Sheffield United, QPR and Aston Villa since moving to White Hart Lane two years ago, added: "He's hard to get the ball off in training and he's good to have around, good to give the ball to.
"He gets you out of trouble and I think he's a fantastic player."
Modric has stunned Spurs supporters by declaring he wants to leave White Hart Lane, and will have enraged some by announcing Stamford Bridge as his preferred destination.
The Croatia star's comments came days after Tottenham rejected a £22million offer from Chelsea - a bid ridiculed by manager Harry Redknapp, who has repeatedly insisted the player is not for sale.
And Levy has no intention of caving in to Modric's request, even if the Blues returned with a mega-money offer.
He said: "I wish to make it absolutely clear, as I have said previously, that none of our key players will be sold this summer.
"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."
Chelsea this afternoon branded Levy's claim they had leaked details of their bid for Modric as "nonsense".
Clubs have always struggled to keep wantaway players, with Spurs forced to sell several of their star names in recent years.
Comparisons have been drawn between the Modric saga and Dimitar Berbatov's departure to Old Trafford three years ago but it is understood Tottenham view the two matters completely differently.
They had risked losing Berbatov for next to nothing as he was close to being able to buy out his contract under the Webster ruling, whereas Modric still has five years remaining on the deal he signed last summer.
The 25-year-old has also stated he would not put in a transfer request, while Levy said: "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."
The player himself earlier revealed he intended to discuss his future when he returned from holiday, insisting he did not wish to enrage Spurs fans but expressing his desire to chase silverware.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Modric said: "If somebody comes to the club and the offer is good for me and acceptable to them, then I want to leave.
"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.
"I won't ask for a transfer, no. That would be disrespectful. I hope they can reach an agreement that is satisfactory for everyone.
"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."
Modric said his desire for change was purely a professional one and reiterated his gratitude for Spurs and their followers.
"I don't want to have an argument with Tottenham," he said.
"The supporters have been very good to me and I have enjoyed my time playing for the club, but it is for football that players leave clubs and move.
"It has happened to Tottenham before. It is normal for a player to dream about playing for a bigger club."
Spurs full-back Kyle Walker, currently on England Under-21 duty in Denmark, admitted Modric would be a "massive loss" but remained hopeful he would stay.
Asked how big a gap the former Dinamo Zagreb man would leave if he departed, Walker replied: "He'd be a massive loss.
"But, hopefully, Spurs is not a selling club and hopefully they keep hold of him and keep going forward.
Walker, who has had loan spells with Sheffield United, QPR and Aston Villa since moving to White Hart Lane two years ago, added: "He's hard to get the ball off in training and he's good to have around, good to give the ball to.
"He gets you out of trouble and I think he's a fantastic player."