Sunday, July 22, 2012

'You're making a bad situation worse': AVB opens up on Spurs rift with Modric as rebel is fined

Midfielder has fled to Croatia rather than join Tottenham's pre-season tour as he waits for Real Madrid move


Andre Villas-Boas has accused Luka Modric of "making things worse" after the midfielder snubbed Tottenham's pre-season tour to fly home to Croatia.
The new White Hart Lane boss said Daniel Levy was furious with Modric - who will be fined his full £15,000 wages for every day he remains a rebel - for staging his walkout at a time when the chairman's wife is ill .
AVB told Spanish paper AS: "I think Modric is wrong. This will go against him. He has worsened the situation with what you are doing and now the chairman is very angry.
"This is also not a good time for Daniel Levy, who is in the USA at the moment, because his wife is ill."
Modric, who wants a move to Real Madrid, failed to turn up as Spurs flew out of Heathrow to Los Angeles yesterday, despite club officials waiting for him until the last possible moment.



Instead, team-mate Rafael van der Vaart said he believed from a phone message from Modric that the playmaker had gone home to Croatia after refusing to train with Tottenham last week.
Van der Vaart told AS he had gone to Modric's house on Friday in an attempt to make peace.
And he said: "It is in a difficult situation. The president is angry, but he is also very upset with what is happening. I think everything will be fixed in three or four days."
Real are ready to pay £27m for Modric but Levy wants £40m. And noises from the Bernabeu suggest Jose Mourinho's side are ready to wait until the last days of the transfer window until Spurs lower their price.
The Madrid side are frustrated as they believe they have twice done favours for Tottenham in recent years - dramatically lashing their asking price for Rafa van der Vaart in 2010 and bowing out of the race for Emmanuel Adebayor last season.
Villas-Boas also admitted Modric would be a major loss if he leaves Spurs.
"He's good, very good. I tried to sign him last summer for Chelsea. He will be a big loss. He's a player who can make the difference, who gives a lot of clarity to the play when the team needs it and who can play in several positions," he said.
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Source :Mirror.co.uk