Luka Modric is one of the best midfielders Tottenham have ever had.
The Croatia international joined Spurs from Dinamo Zagreb in the summer of 2008, and he went on to become a fan favourite at the old White Hart Lane.
The supporters adore him so much that many urged Daniel Levy to re-sign Modric after hearing that he will be leaving Real Madrid this summer.
However, Levy and Modric didn’t always share a great relationship.
Why Luka Modric ‘resented’ Daniel Levy towards the end of his Tottenham career
Daniel Levy is one of the biggest names in English football.
The Spurs chairman has been around for a long time, and although he has come under enormous criticism from the fans, his off-the-pitch work deserves credit.
One of the things Levy is very famous for is how ruthless he is in negotiations when another club makes a move for his star players.
Luka Modric experienced that first-hand when Real Madrid came in for him back in 2012.
“Generally speaking, Daniel Levy is an excellent chairman who fights for Spurs interests. The club’s recent results only attest to this,” he wrote in Luka Modric – My Autobiography.
“However, I resented him because on a couple of occasions he had promised to let me move to a bigger club and then broke his promise.
“For me, one’s promise and one’s word are more important than anything in the club’s or the player’s best interest.”
What Daniel Levy did that drove Real Madrid crazy
Real Madrid usually get the players they want to sign pretty comfortably, but Levy made things extremely difficult for them when they came in for Modric.
The Tottenham chairman had promised the midfielder that he would let him go, but he complicated a deal every time it got close to completion.
In that summer, Modric was even given permission to fly to Madrid to complete the move, but he was then stopped because Levy changed the terms.
“We’ve agreed on everything, you’re flying to Madrid.’ And when, all happy, I would head for the airport, new information would arrive, ‘We have to put it off, there’s a new development’,” Modric wrote in his book.
“The second time that happened, I was on the edge. Falling apart. Tortured by the lack of progress, I remember asking Vanja (his wife), ‘How can Levy be so unfair?’.”
Modric also said: “Levy was driving them crazy: it seemed that every time they reached an agreement, he asked for something else.”
But, finally, after Jose Mourinho spoke to Levy, a deal was agreed and Modric was sold to the Galacticos.