August 20 – Inter Milan have announced their intention to sue La Liga president Javier Tebas (pictured) over his claims the club used underhand methods to try and sign Luka Modric from Real Madrid.
The outspoken Tebas voiced his displeasure with how certain clubs conduct their business in an interview with Spanish newspaper ABC.
Tebas has long aimed criticism at the likes of Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain, believing UEFA should consider disqualifying them from European competition.
In his latest outburst, he said he was concerned him over the transfer of Cristiano Ronaldo from PSG to Juventus but went further when he accused Inter Milan of “having no money to buy players but then offer a mountain of money, the source of which I don’t know.”
“Tricks in the market? As for Juve I don’t know. We’ll have to see how their deal [for Ronaldo] pans out, but Inter’s offer for Modric hid some trickery,” he was quoted as saying.
Modric inspired Croatia to the World Cup final last month and was named the player of the tournament. He had been touted for a move to Italy but opted instead to extend his six-year stay with Real Madrid after securing a salary rise.
In a statement Inter said it was taking legal action against Tebas “in the face of statements made today in the Press.”
And the Italian League said it was “surprised and bitter” at Tebas’ “completely unfounded” comments.
Modric has been at the centre of transfer trickery before. A Croatian court in June sentenced the former boss of Dinamo Zagreb, Zdravko Mamic, to six-and-a-half years in prison for tax evasion and siphoning off profits from player transfers, allegedly including that of Luka Modric to Tottenham Hotspur and Mateo Kovacic to Inter.
Modric, has been charged with perjury, suspected of having made false statements during the trial when he was questioned about his 2008 transfer to Tottenham.
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