Real Madrid player explains why he rejected Arsenal move

LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 29: The Arsenal badge can be seen on the side of the Emirates stadium, home of Arsenal FC, on the side of a building on March 29, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Chloe Knott - Danehouse/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 29: The Arsenal badge can be seen on the side of the Emirates stadium, home of Arsenal FC, on the side of a building on March 29, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Chloe Knott - Danehouse/Getty Images) /
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Real Madrid might not have a deep squad at this point in time. But they certainly seem to have a group of players who want to be at Santiago Bernabeu and nowhere else. Perhaps that is why the results have not dropped despite the long list of injuries and the squad depth issues on top of that as well.

One of Real Madrid’s biggest strengths in recent years has been their ability to identify top young talents and develop them into first-team stars under their watchful eye at the Santiago Bernabeu. Federico Valverde would fall under that category for sure.

Valverde has risen through the ranks at Real Madrid, since joining the club back in 2016 from Penarol. But Arsenal were another club interested in the Uruguayan international.

In fact, Valverde even had a trial with Arsenal but a move never materialised. The Real Madrid midfielder has finally lifted the lid on the reason why and it was the Uruguayan who did not appear to be keen on the move instead of the other way round.

Real Madrid player explains why he rejected Arsenal move

Valverde wrote in The Players’ Tribune:

"If you Google me, you will see stories about how I almost went to Arsenal when I was 16. That’s maybe half-true. It’s nothing against Arsenal, but I never wanted to go to England."

He further elaborated:

"They sent me on trial to London for a week, and I just wasn’t comfortable. If you only think of material things, it sounds great. But we are not robots. The reality was that my family couldn’t come to London with me. I’d have to live alone, not speaking the language, at 16 years old.For every one kid who succeeds moving overseas, you don’t see the 100 who fail."

It would be safe to say that things worked out quite well for Valverde. Real Madrid would come calling soon and the Uruguayan midfielder made the move to the Spanish capital.

It has been a journey for him in Spain. Valverde played quite a bit of football for Castilla before moving on loan to Deportivo La Coruna. He would then return to Real Madrid and has gradually established himself as one of the club’s most important players.

The Uruguayan international is still just 25 though and is expected to remain a starter for Los Blancos for years to come. Real Madrid have the best midfield department in all of Europe for the foreseeable future.

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