Photo credit should read IAN KINGTON/AFP via Getty Images

News

HomeNewsTottenham HotspurEnglish Premier League

Sebastien Bassong says he had a teammate at Tottenham who was even better than Gareth Bale

Giuseppe Labellarte

Sat 1 March 2025 8:15, UK

Tottenham Hotspur have had their fair share of iconic players over the decades, including a fair few since the turn of the century.

For instance, the likes of Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen, Mousa Dembele, Hugo Lloris, Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld were all Tottenham fan favourites at their peak.

Going back a few more years, the likes of Ledley King, Robbie Keane, Jermain Defoe, Dimitar Berbatov and Rafael van der Vaart all lit up White Hart Lane.

Gareth Bale was an especially exciting player, going on to become one of the best and most decorated players in history when he moved to Real Madrid.

Sebastien Bassong, who played alongside Bale, rates the Welshman highly – but there’s another former Spurs teammate he thinks was even better than him.

READ MORE: Archie Gray says Tottenham have a ‘world-class’ player who’s ‘one of the nicest guys’ he’s ever met

Sebastien Bassong hails Tottenham icon Luka Modric

Recalling his time alongside Bale, Bassong told talkSPORT: “When we played [Inter] Milan I was playing alongside him and Samuel Eto’o came to me and said, ‘Who’s that guy?’

“I said, ‘You’re about to find out, he’s gonna retire Maicon’.

“He could have played by himself on the left, left-back and left wing. He was an introvert, he didn’t talk much.”

However, when it came to the best teammate he had at Spurs, he selected Croatian maestro Luka Modric.

“But…” Bassong continued. “I’ll still go for Luka.

“Luka, we called him Mozart, he’s the best one because he won the Ballon d’Or, at Spurs I’d go for Luka – no doubt,”

“Luka isn’t a talker, he’s an introvert by nature, but when Luka spoke everyone listened.

“Luka doesn’t get angry, but if he does there’s a reason because he’s so good and efficient.

“That’s the kind of person you want to follow, when he says something, give the ball to Luka and he’s going to dictate the game.”

Bassong then recalled an anecdote in which Modric proved just how skilful he is.

“One day I had the ball and he came square to me and I didn’t give him the ball because there were two players on his back,” recalled Bassong.

“He came to me and said, ‘Bass, give me the ball’. I said, ‘Yeah but…’ He said, ‘Just give me the ball!’

“The next time I gave him the ball and he did something amazing, dropped his shoulder and went past two players, out to the right then a Crouchy [Peter Crouch] goal.

“He came back to me and said, ‘What did I tell you, give me the ball!’ I said, ‘Listen boss, from now on I’ll give you the ball!’

“He was a leader, he was the boss, he was a captain and someone you want to follow.”

How Modric fared at Tottenham

To this day, Modric remains one of the best signings Daniel Levy has made at Spurs.

Tottenham paid £16.5million for him, got four great seasons out of him, and then almost doubled their profit when they sold him to Real Madrid for £30million.

Under Harry Redknapp, Modric helped Spurs to become the first side in the club’s history to qualify for the Champions League.

Now 39, Modric is still starring for Real Madrid, where he has won a multitude of trophies including six Champions Leagues and four La Liga titles.

Things could have gone differently, with Sam Allardyce revealing he came close to signing Modric for Newcastle United.