Jose Mourinho reacted after snatching world-class player from Chelsea
Back in 2012, the Blues were highly interested in signing Modric from Tottenham, and the Croatia International was as well keen on leaving Spurs for Chelsea.
However, a certain Daniel Levy ensured that the deal didn’t go through after much negotiations. With Chelsea unable to sign Modric, Real Madrid hijacked the deal with Jose Mourinho in charge of the Los Blancos.
Now 35, Modric has seen it all and has won the Ballon d’Or as well. The veteran midfielder may have played his last competition with Croatia and could also be on the verge of retirement.
However, Mourinho has reserved massive praise for Modric and has admitted that he’s pleased to have signed the Croatian for Real Madrid.
He told talkSPORT: “Luka is one of those players who when he ends his career in a couple of years or so, people like us who love football, we are going to be very sad.
“He’s absolutely fantastic. When I asked Florentino Perez to buy him, I don’t want to remember the occasion because it was really hard to deal with Tottenham.
“In the end he arrived in Madrid and stayed for ten years at the biggest club with the biggest pressure and absolutely amazing.
“Sometimes you don’t know if he is right or left footed, the way he analyses everyone around him, it looks like there is no pressure and no players around him.
“The way he thinks is fantastic, then he’s such a humble guy inside the pitch, the way he works for the team. He’s such a humble guy outside.
“I think yesterday when he left the pitch on a substitution at extra-time; I think it was not just the Croatia crowd applauding him, but the whole stadium, even the Spanish ones.
“Luka, in Spain, he plays for Real Madrid and is a player everyone respects. I am so, so happy I was the one to take him to Madrid.”