Juventus target Real Madrid's Luka Modric: Mediaset Italia
According to the Italian media outlet, Inter Milan now face serious competition from their rivals who aim to reunite the Croatian with Cristiano Ronaldo.
It was apparently not enough for Juventus to take talisman Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid; now they are looking to sign the 2018 Ballon d'Or winner, Luka Modric. This is according to Mediaset Italia who state that the Bianconero has already put plans in place to reunite the two stars in Turin, with Jorge Mendes brought in to act as the intermediary for the operation.
Modric and Cristiano to reunite?
This move in the transfer market has caught Inter Milan, and their sporting CEO Beppe Marotta (who recently moved across from Juve) by surprise. It has been Inter, after all, where the idea of signing Modric has been an obsession. Last summer, the Milanese club tried to bring in the 33-year-old Croatian with a very attractive offer: 10 million euros net across four seasons (a significant jump from the 6.5 million the midfielder was on at Madrid, where he has a contract until 2020).
In addition to the salary, the Italian club offered a post-Serie A guarantee of two additional years playing in China, for Jiangsu who share owners. All in all, Modric would have been looking at total earnings of around 60 million (net) over six years.
Inter continue their seduction
The seducing offer was said to have caught the attention of the player, who seriously considered leaving the European champions, however in the end Los Blancos convinced him to stay. The Spanish club also went on the offensive against Inter, complaining to FIFA that negotiations had taken place with their contracted player without consent. No punishment came the way of the Italians.
Inter have not taken the Croatian off their 'most wanted' list and they hope to take advantage of the fact that Modric has still not put pen to paper on an extension with Madrid. Marotta is reviewing the numbers that can make the transfer happen, but is aware that a competitor in the market such as his old club Juventus, one that has a good relationship with Madrid, will make things all the more difficult.
Any move that Modric makes away from Madrid will increase the speculation of Spurs' Eriksen coming in to fill his very talented boots.
