Donny van de Beek confirms that he came very close to joining Real Madrid before completing his transfer to Manchester United.
Donny van de Beek recently committed to a five-year contract at Manchester United to complete his €45 million (£40m) transfer from Ajax.
A host of European powerhouses were said to be battling to acquire the services of the talented midfielder, who had been a consistent performer for Ajax over the years.
Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Juventus, and Arsenal were some of those clubs, the player’s agent previously informed.
In an interview with De Telegraaf, the 23-year old claims he had even agreed to a move to Real Madrid but the club pulled the plug in the final moments.
“As you know, everything was set with Real Madrid and the clubs had an agreement as well. But for some reason, it ultimately didn’t happen,” he said.
“At first, you feel angry and question whether that kind of opportunity is going to happen again.”
According to rumors, the Spanish giants were keen on signing the Ajax youth product but only after offloading Gareth Bale and James Rodriguez, but they were able to sell none of them.
Van de Beek added: “I guess that what happened is that the players who were supposedly going to leave, ended up staying and that’s why Real Madrid pulled away from the move.”
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