Newcastle United had the chance to have one of the world’s best footballers at the club almost a decade ago.
Tony Jimenez has revealed that the Croatian midfielder had everything agreed with the club to join, however, Mike Ashley decided against paying the financial demands to bring him to St. James’ Park.
“We flew Modric over to Newcastle, got him to the training ground,” he told The Times.
“Everything was pretty much agreed but it was down to Mike. He was given the numbers – a £16million fee and £2million commission for the agent – and decided he didn’t want to take the risk.
Tottenham Hotspur then took advantage after they became aware of Ashley’s stance and signed him up just five days later.
It had initially been claimed by Kevin Keegan in his book that the deal for Modric had failed because Jimenez had deemed him “too lightweight”, something the former vice-president has denied.
The Verdict:
Following the release of Keegan’s autobiography, the air around Newcastle seems to be a little toxic at the moment with allegations being thrown left, right and centre.
Both men have made some rather outlandish claims about the other and it will be difficult to see who is telling the truth about certain things that have been said.
However, it does appear that Modric was one player on their radar, and if Ashley did reject the chance to sign him, it will have only angered the Toon faithful that bit more.
Newcastle fans – thoughts?