Barcelona turned down the chance to sign Luka Modric in 2008 when he was at Dinamo Zagreb because they weren’t ‘thinking long term’, it has been claimed.
Bojan Krkic Snr –father of the former Barca player, currently at Stoke City – a former scout of the Blaugrana, revealed the club had the opportunity to sign the current Real Madrid star before he moved to Tottenham Hotspur, but the club would not sanction a deal due to the number of midfielders already there.
"We had it in our hands," Krkic told Cadena Ser.
"Modric was a player with a winning mentality, but the club weren't thinking about the future, only the short to medium term.
"Our contact in Croatia spoke highly of Modric before he signed for Tottenham. I was working for Barca then and they sent us various DVDs of him playing with Dinamo Zagreb and the Croatian national team.
"I consulted with Zvonimir Boban, the ex-Milan and Croatia player, to get his opinion and he told me Modric would be a star in the future.
“He left a great impression at Camp Nou, speaking fluent English and he came across as very intelligent and switched on."
