Luka Modric is in a position that most footballers have been in. He wants to leave a club but the club is steadyfast that they don't want him to go anywhere. In fact the club is willing to let him rot on the bench or in the stands if he does not want to comply. From the outside view, it seems very tough to deal with. His heart belongs somewhere else but yet his wife doesn't want to sign the divorce papers unless a large fee is put up.
Just a little background: Chelsea has made a couple of offers to Tottenham midfielder, Luka Modric. Tottenham has rejected every bid for the player even though the player wants to go to West London.
Daniel Levy, the chairman of Tottenham, had a meeting with Modric where he basically just said, "Stay here and play or rot." Modric feels disenchanted now because they had a "gentlemen's agreement", right before he signed an extension that if a big club (i.e. Chelsea) comes calling then he was allowed to leave.
Luka now has had a transfer requested denied and we are in this situation now.
So what should Luka do?
He can play good soldier. Work hard in training sessions and games. Play as the good professional as we know he is. And after another season and if they aren't in the Champions League, they can reward him by sending him away to the club he prefers. Somewhat like what C. Ronaldo did (except Man Utd was always going to be in the Champions League), his heart was in Madrid but Sir Alex got one more decent year out of him and actually was a game away from winning Man Utd's third Champions League under SAF.
Problem with this is that he seems to be working with two stubborn men (Redknapp and Levy). They promised him that if he were to sign a new contract with Spurs then after a year (last season), he would be able to go to the club of his choice if they came calling. Obviously smucks make promises like that so they can get you to sign the dotted line. We all know people who tell you that they are going to give you the world and then disappoint you.
Yeah, he can play good soldier and do well for the club but how is it going to help him go to where he needs to. His club doesn't want him to go anywhere and feel he is obligated to complete his contract. By that time, none of the teams like Chelsea will probably pursue him then.
He could also take the bluff and rot on the bench. I know these players are ultra-competitive and if they weren't they wouldn't be where they are now. However, knowing me, if I were in his shoes. I would come to training, if they don't want to play me then fine. I will still make my money and you can't do much about that.
Probably the wrong way to go about it but hey right now I would be trying to make the most out of the pay-days as possible.
I digress.
I think this would have a major impact on star players on the team. Think of Rafael van der Vaart and Gareth Bale. What must they be thinking about? Well if they do not plan on giving up Luka Modric, then what hope do I have towards making it to a bigger club if we continue to be a 5th to 10th place club not making the Champions League?
Also morale around the club would be down. I think from player to player, everybody respects each others decisions to go play on the best teams in the world if they get the chance. If someone wants to go to another club, then most players would not begrudge them on their decisions. (Unless the move is a lateral one based soley on money). The players would look at this situation and plead with the club to just move on because even one player could balance the mood and morale of a team.
If I was in Modric's situation, I would play the decent solider, not good soldier, but decent.
The difference: I remember when Modric said that he came back from injury earlier then he should have last season. If I was in that situation, I would take a wee bit more time to make sure I am 100% healthy. If he gets re-injured trying to come back earlier, then he knows that the club won't have his back as he has been proven. So I would make sure that I am 100% fit before I step on the field again.
Obviously I would continue to play as hard as possible because the wages will go down if you don't play well.
And not play to lose but just play well enough NOT to get a Champions League spot. In this case Tottenham would have to sell off players then, they aren't getting that CL money coming in to give extensions or buy better players. More players like the aforementioned will say they want to leave for Champions League football because they are at that caliber. So Tottenham would have some decisions to make. Should we keep these players and possibly go into some debt and have more disenchanted players? or should we rebuild and go with younger players and try to make another run with a different generation of players?
Those are the questions that Tottenham have to ask for themselves and Luka is definitely asking himself some questions if he has to stick around White Hart Lane.
My Opinion: I think Chelsea has to go around 35mil to about 38mil to get this deal done. I see Tottenham valuing the player around the 30 to 32mil range. I think if they are able to up it getting close to 40mil. Then Tottenham will look to let the player go. Are Chelsea willing to get up that much money? We will see.
All I know is this saga will make a heck of a month and a half...
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