Manchester City Nearly Signed Luka Modric in 2008, Says Life President

Manchester City Life President Bernard Halford has revealed how the Sky Blues nearly signed Luka Modric for just £10 million back in 2008, but a lack of funds saw the deal fall through and the midfielder ended up at Tottenham Hotspur.

As MailOnline's Dan Ripley reported, Halford explained how a deal was in place under former owner Thaksin Shinawatra, who ended up having his assets frozen:

"When Dr Shinawatra was here we could have signed Modric.

"Shinawatra was very excited—he had come to me to say we were about to make a big signing, one of the best players in the world, and that's who it was.

"[Vedran] Corluka had lined it up for Modric to come to us, but when the money was needed, Shinawatra's money was frozen in Thailand.

"He came to me on the first day of the season to say he had to resign, so we didn't get Modric.

"It would have been for around £10 million—and now he's in for the Ballon d'Or."

Modric instead ended up at Tottenham, where he emerged as one of the world's best midfielders. He moved to Real Madrid in 2012 and has been a key player for Los Blancos ever since. The 32-year-old won this year's UEFA Player of the Year award.

The financial issues that plagued City in 2008 ended up being a blessing in disguise, as the problem led to the club's sale to Abu Dhabi United, which owns City Football Group. Immense investment followed soon after, with the club breaking the British transfer record to sign Robinho for £32.5 million on the day of the takeover.

David Silva arrived in 2010, and according to the report, that transfer might not have happened had Modric been around. Silva had been a star at Valencia and has since become a club icon at the Etihad Stadium.

On-pitch improvements came gradually, including Premier League title wins in 2011-12 and 2013-14. Today, City are one of the best clubs in the world, favoured to once again win the Premier League title and contend for major silverware in Europe as well.

In hindsight, fans are probably happy with how things turned out. While Modric was a star with Spurs, he was unable to push the team to join England's elite, leaving north London without a single trophy. No one knows whether he would have had more luck with City, but he didn't start racking up the accolades until he joined Real.

Silva has been a difference-maker and a fan favourite for years, and City's supporters likely wouldn't trade that for anything.