Florentino Perez 'Refuses to Meet' Luka Modric Amid Real Madrid Exit Rumours

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez is reportedly refusing to meet Luka Modric face-to-face amid speculation the midfielder wants to follow Cristiano Ronaldo out the exit door and join Inter Milan.

Modric has another two years left to run on his Real contract and has been linked as a major target for the Nerazzurri, but Calciomercato.com reported Perez is delaying a meeting in the hope Modric will decide to stay.

According to the report, Real figurehead Perez "doesn’t want to give credit" to Modric's apparent desire to leave and will hope his contract until 2020 is enough to convince him to give up on a potential move to Serie A. Former team-mate Ronaldo left Los Blancos to join Italian giants Juventus earlier this summer.

Inter Milan manager Luciano Spalletti recently addressed the speculation linking Modric with a summer transfer to the San Siro Stadium but wasn't hopeful of a deal being completed, via Goal:

There have been suggestions that Modric's entourage could be encouraging exit rumours in order to land the Croatian a superior contract after he played a key role in guiding his country to the 2018 FIFA World Cup final.

Both parties will undoubtedly be aware of the pressure at Real this summer after Ronaldo's departure to Turin and Zinedine Zidane stepping down from the helm, with Julen Lopetegui taking over as his replacement.

The likes of Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos have in the past been strongly linked with moves away from the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu only to sign lucrative new deals with Real—it's a common tactic among agents at the top level.

Modric has another two years left to run on his contract, but following his sterling World Cup, this could be his optimal chance for one last bumper deal, as sportswriter Andrew Gaffney noted:

Despite his age, Modric is a crucial cog from the team that last season won its third consecutive UEFA Champions League crown, and retaining his talents in midfield will be seen as a chief priority for Lopetegui.

Get Italian Football News said there are meetings taking place, although Modric and Perez remain on the peripheries when it comes to talks:

Spalletti has already signed one Croat from La Liga this summer after loaning Atletico Madrid right-back Sime Vrsaljko, who joined compatriots Ivan Perisic and Marcelo Brozovic at the San Siro.

One major issue for Inter is that the Serie A deadline is this Friday, August 17, after which the Nerazzurri will no longer be able to sign new players, even though La Liga's deadline won't pass until August 31.

Real appear confident enough in their bargaining stance with Modric that Perez hasn't deemed a face-to-face necessary and will attempt to run down the clock in the hopes his star midfielder will prolong his stay at Real.