I think that Luka Modric has been a touch naïve about the so-called 'gentleman's agreement' he claims was made with Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy last year about letting him leave if a bigger club came calling.
He seems like a really nice, genuine lad, but football is not always such an honest business. It is easy to believe that he is genuinely aggrieved at having a promise reneged upon.
The agreement was made when Modric was settling a new five-year deal with the club last year, which was perhaps a mistake in itself if he harboured ambitions to move elsewhere at the time. His agent obviously missed a trick in not negotiating a buy-out clause in the new deal at the very least. It's why Levy has been able to repeatedly insist that the Croatian is not for sale at any price, because technically that is true.
Modric has now had to go to greater lengths in his effort to get his move to Chelsea, first by stating his desire in public and then by criticising his chairman for not living up to a vow which is not backed up in black-and-white.
It is not the first time a player has had to admit to the media that they want to leave. For example, Cesc Fabregas did the same last summer regarding his desired return to Barcelona, although the conditions there are slightly different.
Fabregas owes Arsenal, and Arsene Wenger, a lot more than Modric is indebted to Spurs. The Gunners have been the making of Fabregas, taking him on as a teenager and nurturing his talents to the point where he is now a European and world champion. By contrast, Modric was already a fully-fledged international with experience in the Champions League and was the reigning Croatian Footballer of the Year when he arrived at White Hart Lane three years ago.
Like Fabregas, Modric was initially very respectful of what Tottenham had done for him in his career, but now he has had to do something to try and force a deal through. The prospect of more Champions League football and a shot at the Premier League is simply too much for him to resist.
This latest affair is just another example of how player power continues to increase, even in this day and age. If a footballer is prepared to risk the wrath of their supporters in order to get a transfer, more often than not it happens.
If it takes Modric handing in a transfer request to helps things along, then so be it. His comments in the media amount to as much, but if he puts his wish to leave in writing - thereby giving up his right to any loyalty payment due to him and his agent - it may help convince Spurs to sell.
Perhaps it is time for Levy to relent and let the player go. His stance in refusing Chelsea's attentions is admirable, and no doubt appreciated by Spurs fans, but it looks like keeping the player is now not a viable option.
No one at White Hart Lane will want to see a repeat of Dimitar Berbatov's final appearance in a Tottenham shirt on the first game of the season in 2008. The Bulgarian had already made it clear he wanted to leave, and when he came off the bench at Middlesbrough he shuffled around the pitch like a sulky teenager. It was goalless when he came on, and Spurs ended up losing the match 2-1. That should act as a cautionary tale.
Levy will have to look at how much profit he is looking to make on Modric - who, after all, cost Tottenham a lot of money in the first place - but he may have to swallow a bit of pride and realise that Chelsea can offer him something that his own club currently cannot.