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Real Madrid's Luka Modric said a report that he told FIFA he initiated contact with Inter Milan this summer over a potential move is nonsense.
Modric had been linked with a move to Inter since winning the Golden Ball at the World Cup, but Real Madrid demanded they pay his release clause of €750 million if they wanted to sign him.
Madrid reported Inter to FIFA over their alleged approach for Modric and were also unhappy with Inter's willingness to speak openly about the possibility of a deal with one of their players.
"The greatest nonsense in history," Modric wrote in response to a post on Instagram, responding to a report that he admitted to contacting Inter first this summer.
#Modric
La Gazzetta dello Sport reported that Modric took responsibility for initiating the negotiations because he wanted to join up with Croatia teammates Ivan Perisic, Marcelo Brozovic and Sime Vrsaljko.
The post Modric objected to reads: "Real Madrid filed a complaint to FIFA against Inter Milan for violating Article 18 of the transfer regulations by contacting a player directly without the permission of the parent club. According to La Gazzetta Dello Sport, FIFA called Modric after receiving the complaint from Real Madrid and Modric said that he was the one who contacted Inter and not the other way around because he wanted to play with his three compatriots (Perisic, Brozovic, Vrsaljko)."
Emilio Butragueno, Real Madrid's director of institutional relations, said last week that Modric "couldn't be happier" to be at Madrid, and with the transfer window closed in Italy, the move will not be happening this summer.
Modric has not signed a new contract with the club -- his current deal expires in 2020 -- but it has been reported an offer is being prepared.
Inter coach Luciano Spalletti had said that Modric wanted to join the club but acknowledged a deal was unlikely.
"That he has shown interest to join us is obviously positive," Spalletti said. "We are trying to create the right conditions for him to join Inter Milan."
Inter also said that they would be taking legal action against La Liga president Javier Tebas, who told Spanish newspaper ABC the league he presides over is being stripped of its best players unfairly and illegally while claiming Inter were trying to sign players without any money to do so.
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Source: espn.co.uk