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 reported by MailOnline's Dan Ripley, Halford explained how a deal was in place under former owner Thaksin Shinawatra, but he 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.