Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain says he is staying with the La Liga champions this summer despite being mentioned as a potential sweetener in the deal to bring Luka Modric to the Bernabeu.

The Croatian in reportedly on the brink of joining Madrid this summer, with chairman Daniel Levy finally ready to bow to his desire to play regular Champions League football.

It was understood that Higuian could go to Tottenham Hotspur as part of the deal, however the Argentine striker says that despite being given a parting gift at the end of the last season, he will be staying in the Spanish capital.

Gonzalo Higuain
Higuain is staying with Madrid.

"I do not regret anything I have done here," Higuian told as.com." I can fulfil my ambitions here and win titles, hopefully this year we will be champions again.

"This year I am able to start work at the beginning of pre-season and I'm really looking forward to it. I feel strong.

"I hope this season is as good as or even better than last year, and that we achieve our individual and collective objectives. I'm as excited as the first day I arrived here.

"I'm well aware of the club I'm at and who I play with. I'm relaxed. The shirt my team-mates gave me at the end of the campaign was not a farewell gift, I asked them to sign it as a memento.

"The affection my team-mates and the fans had for me gave me strength to stay on.

"I saw Modric at Euro 2012 and also at Tottenham." he added.

"He is a player that the club likes and so do we. I hope it can be wrapped up as soon as possible as that would be best for the team."

After handing in a transfer request last summer and demanding a move to Chelsea, Modric looks set to make a long awaited departure from White Hart Lane.

Tottenham were able to finish in the Premier League's top four but Chelsea's victory in the Champions League final saw them snatch away the final qualifying spot for next season's European Cup.

The result contributed to the sacking of Redknapp and the subsequent appointment of Andre Villas-Boas, who has since signed Jan Vertonghen and Gylfi Sigurdsson.

tottenham embark on a domestic and American tour during pre-season, with matches against Stevenage, LA Galaxy, Liverpool, New York Red Bulls, Watford, Valencia and Southend United.

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