When Modric could have joined Chelsea instead of Real Madrid

Luka Modric became one of the best players in the world at Real Madrid. He arrived, won trophies and even reached the World Cup final with Croatia. That earned him the Ballon d'Or. 

However, his career could have been very different. 'The Guardian', which references an extract from the Croatian's autobigoraphy, revealed that he almost went to Chelsea instead of Real Madrid. 

"Meeting Roman Abramovich on his yacht was exciting. With the 2010-11 Premier League season over, I was ready for my summer vacation. But it didn’t last long, as my agents – Vlado Lemić and Davor Ćurković – passed on Chelsea’s wish to sign me. Before transferring to Tottenham, it had seemed I would move to Stamford Bridge. I was open to the idea of moving," Luka said. 

"Vanja and I took a private jet from Zadar to Cannes, where my management team were waiting. Then, a van with tinted-glass windows took us to Nice, some 30km away. There we were picked up by Roman Abramovich’s security, who put us on a speedboat and took us to the Chelsea owner’s yacht," the midfielder continued. 

Modric admitted that he wanted to go to a team which is much better than Tottenham, but he did not know whether Daniel Levy would be prepared. "My feeling was that it was time for a move – I wanted to fight for trophies and win titles, Do you think Tottenham will resist your transfer? Are they going to put up a fight?, Roman Abrahmovich asked. "I think the negotiations are going to be tough," the Croatian replied. He returned for pre-season and expressed his desire to leave. 

"There were no harsh words or insults, but Levy reprimanded me for publicly announcing I wanted to leave. Then, throughout the season, I had a couple of meetings with him. he even came to my home and tried to talk me into extending my contract again, but then he told me he’d let me leave for an offer from a big club such as Real Madrid," Modric concluded.