Luka Modric has labelled reports that he tried to push through a transfer to Inter as “the greatest nonsense in history”.
The Real Madrid midfielder has been linked with a move to Serie A throughout the summer, with the player’s agent even insisting that he was “thrilled” by the idea of playing for Inter.
There are hopes among fans that Luciano Spalletti’s side could challenge for the title this season following an impressive transfer window that has seen the likes of Radja Nainggolan, Sime Vrsaljko and Keita Balde all arrive.
With the Italian transfer window having now closed, however, Inter did miss out on signing Modric, with the 32-year-old remaining at Madrid.
Real accused Inter of violating Article 18 of the transfer regulations, that restrict a club from contacting a player directly without the permission of the player’s current club.
FIFA contacted Modric to get his side of the story and it is claimed he told world football’s governing body that it was he who contacted Inter regarding a transfer, rather than the other way round.
As Express Sport reported earlier this summer, Modric’s wife is thought to have made the first approach to Inter to ascertain if they would be open to signing him.
Modric supposedly wants to leave Real Madrid and head to Italy, where his Croatia teammates Ivan Perisic, Marcelo Brozovic and Sime Vrsaljko all play for the Nerazzurri.
Reports had suggested Modric had tried to force through a move to the Italian giants before the deadline passed but the Croatian is adamant that is not the case.
Responding to an Instagram post that referenced the rumour, Modric wrote: “It’s the greatest nonsense in history!!”
Real Madrid last week delivered a complaint to FIFA regarding Inter’s transfer intentions.
The La Liga giants are unhappy with what they believe was an approach made by Inter to midfielder Modric.
The Croatia international is one of Real’s top players and the Bernabeu club do not want to lose him.
But in a shock twist to the transfer saga, it appears as though the case brought to FIFA will be dropped.
Inter kicked off the 2018-19 season with a 1-0 defeat against Sassuolo as Domenico Berardi scored a first-half penalty to secure all three points for the hosts.
Madrid, meanwhile, got their league campaign underway with a 2-0 win over Getafe, with Modric coming as a second-half substitute in the game.
Going into that game, Julen Lopetegui’s side had been under pressure to spend following the 4-2 loss to Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup, with Madrid subsequently having their lowest crowd in 10 years for their Bernabeu opener.
Sunday’s victory over Getafe is likely to ease the calls to bring new faces through the door, however, with chief target Eden Hazard having already ruled out a move.
A UEFA Champions League winner, a FIFA World Cup runner-up and recipient of the FIFA Golden Ball. . Modric has been nominated for the UEFA men’s player of the year.