What Chelsea did to anger Harry Redknapp at Tottenham back in 2011, he found it ‘pretty poor’

Chelsea and Tottenham partake in one of English football’s most bitter rivalries.

The rivalry intensified towards the end of the 1974/75 campaign, when a vital 2-0 win for Spurs ended up relegating the Blues to the Second Division for the first time in their history.

It has since seen some pretty intense battles commence between the north and west Londoners, with that famous game in 2016 at Stamford Bridge – known as The Battle of the Bridge – arguably the most memorable in recent years.

Five years prior to that game – however – Chelsea left Harry Redknapp irked at Tottenham.

How Harry Redknapp reacted to “poor” bid from Chelsea for Luka Modric

Back in 2011, most of Europe wanted to sign Luka Modric – as he and Gareth Bale began to develop into superstars in N17.

The Croatia international was particularly admired by Chelsea, who made several bids in the summer of 2011.

After submitting a £22m offer, the Blues returned with a bid worth £27m, although Redknapp was still not impressed.

The man from Poplar told the Guardian: “I still think £27m is a pretty poor offer in my opinion for a player of that ability. It wouldn’t be anywhere near what I value him at if he was for sale, but he is not for sale.

“There is nowhere to go with it really. That’s the end of it. The chairman has made his stance. He is not for sale and that’s it.”

Modric, who Sam Allardyce almost signed at Newcastle, eventually sealed a £30m move to Real Madrid in August 2012 – where he has won six UEFA Champions League titles and the Ballon d’Or award, amongst many other trophies.

What Luka Modric was called by the Spanish press after leaving Tottenham

The 39-year-old is unquestionably one of the greatest footballers of his generation, and a bonafide Real Madrid legend.

However, the Croatian was not always viewed this way, and actually ended up being named as the worst signing in La Liga for the 2012/13 campaign, receiving 32.2% of the vote in a poll on Marca.

Few would have expected Modric, who Peter Crouch loves, to bounce back in the way he has – with 576 appearances for Real Madrid under his belt and 29 trophies at the time of writing – but that just goes to show what a special player he truly is, both mentally as well as technically.