Barcelona could have signed Real Madrid superstar more than a decade ago, reveals ex-scout

While Barcelona are heading into the new season as the defending champions of La Liga, their performances in recent years in the UEFA Champions League has not been all too great, especially in comparison with their perennial rivals Real Madrid.

The club from the capital have built a solid core in the team and are one of the favourites to win the Champions League title this season.

A key reason behind their success is the existence of old guards such as Luka Modric, who has been driving the Real Madrid midfield for over a decade now.

However, things could have been very different for Modric prior to his move to his old club Tottenham, way back in 2008.

Bojan Krkic Sr reveals Barcelona link for Modric

In a recent interview, Bojan Krkic Sr., a former scout at Barcelona, has revealed that Modric was subjected to a move to Catalonia, shortly before his move to Spurs.

“Before Luka Modric signed with Tottenham, Zvonimir Boban called me and said ‘Listen, I have a player for you’,” Bojan told Carrusel.

“He sent me a video of Modric and assured me he was a top player. We had a meeting with Modrić and his wife in Barcelona,” he added.

Modric was plying his trade for Dinamo Zagreb at the time and had established himself as one of the most talented young midfielders in Croatia.

Bojan, though, revealed that Barcelona did not opt to sign Modric as the club were already boasting talents such as Xavi and Andres Iniesta at the time.

“He came with desire, but at that time there were already Iniesta and Xavi and Barça didn’t want to cut their progression. Then Modric signed with Tottenham,” he said.

Modric ended up joining Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 2008, for a fee of around €22 million.

The Croat made 160 competitive appearances for the Lilywhites before joining Real Madrid in 2012, for a figure of €35 million. Needless to say, Modric hasn’t had to look back since.