Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has claimed that he will not pay more than €35m (£27m) for Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Luka Modric.

Spurs manager Andre Villas-Boas recently insisted that the Premier League club would only sell the Croatian playmaker for the right fee, believed to be around £35m.

Madrid chief Perez has now laid down a potential stumbling block for a move by valuing the player around £8m lower.

"The limit for the Modric deal is €35m," he said. "We will not pay any more than that for him."

Modric moved to White Hart Lane from Dinamo Zagreb in 2008 for around £16.5m.