By John Cross
Real Madrid are threatening to pull out of their summer-long pursuit of Tottenham midfielder Luka Modric.
Fed-up Real president Florentino Perez has warned Spurs that the Spanish giants are running out of patience – which could be seen as another victory for his White Hart Lane counterpart Daniel Levy’s hardball tactics.
Real have also let Tottenham know they may even switch to Inter Milan’s Wesley Sneijder and try to lure their former player back to the Bernabeu after three years in Italy.
Levy was furious with Modric after the Croatia midfielder went AWOL earlier this month and is holding out for a £40million fee before agreeing to sell.
The Spurs supremo refused to sell Modric last summer when Chelsea were interested in him, and it’s Real who have fallen short of their valuation this time, not even coming close to that £40m price.
It could be seen as brinkmanship, with Modric desperate for the deal to happen, but the player is said to be growing increasingly cheesed-off, worried and frustrated.
* BRAZIL keeper Julio Cesar has confirmed he is leaving Inter Milan after they signed Udinese’s Samir Handanovic.
Cesar, 32, is now interesting French side Lyon, while his agents have sounded out Tottenham about a potential deal.
Ironically, new Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas is also keen on Lyon’s current keeper, France’s Euro 2012 captain Hugo Lloris.
