Real Madrid News
Juventus legend reveals he almost signed for Real Madrid: “We were really close”
Giorgio Chiellini will go down as one of the best Italian centre-backs of the 21st century. While the veteran is still plying his trade for LAFC in Major League Soccer, he will always be known for his spell at Juventus.
Chiellini plied his trade for the Bianconeri for 17 long years, featuring in 561 competitive matches in the process. During his time at Juve, he won an astonishing nine Serie A titles and five Italian Cups.
He was also a part of the Italy squad that won the European Championship in 2021. However, at one point, Chiellini was close to joining Real Madrid.
In a recent interview, the Italian has confirmed he was close to joining the Spanish giants. He said it was an honour to have Real Madrid interested in his services, but admits he is proud of what he achieved at Juventus.
“I’ve only been really close to Real Madrid once in my career. Davide Lippi, my agent, knows better than me because these things didn’t interest me a lot. I’ve always been someone who is very focused on playing but at that time we were really close to my move to Real Madrid,” Chiellini said (h/t Tuttosport).
“In retrospect, I can say that it would have been a good experience because I’m someone who likes to travel a lot,” he added.
However, Chiellini added that he might not have suited to Spanish football and might have only stayed in La Liga for 2-3 years.
“I think I’m not a suitable player for Spanish football. I would have done like Cannavaro and Samuel who went to play in Spain and lasted 2-3 years there,” he said.
“Real Madrid’s interest was an honour, but I can say that I’m very happy with how it went afterwards. Being able to write the history of a club like Juventus is not something for everyone.”
The 38-year-old was most notably close to joining Real Madrid in the summer of 2010. He was at the peak of his career at the time, but the defender had confirmed in the past that it was Jose Mourinho who blocked the deal.
The Portuguese mastermind was the head coach of Real Madrid at the time. While most fans will not regret the way the club have evolved since, one would only wonder what the future would have looked like for Real Madrid, if Chiellini had joined the club.
The former Italian international could have built a formidable partnership with another legendary defender in the form of Sergio Ramos.
Talking about his current stint at LAFC, Chiellini said his love for experiencing new cultures is what drew him to America. “I’m someone who likes to travel a lot. I had missed discovering new cultures and maybe it’s also one of the reasons why I’ve now come to play football in the United States,” he said.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Saudi Arabia has triggered a wave of massive establishment within the country so much so that the league has approached players like Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Sergio Ramos and even Karim Benzema.
Benzema’s departure from Real Madrid is imminent and if a report from Diaro AS is to be believed, the Frenchman contacted his former Madrid teammate, Ronaldo, to ask him for information about the Saudi league, living conditions and other teams.
All this because it is said that the legendary Frenchman has received a lucrative offer from the newly crowned Saudi Pro League champions Al Ittihad. As reported before, the star striker will earn more than €100 million per year across his two-year contract with the Saudi team.
At the moment, the Saudi government has approved all of Benzema’s requests and while it is said that he can join the team of his choice, Al Ittihad’s recent flirting had made them absolute favourites.
That said, the transfer may have taken a u-turn recently, as Benzema spoke about staying at Real Madrid for the foreseeable future.
“Speak to the fans? Speak about what? Why should I speak of the future if I’m in Madrid?”, Benzema said.
“It’s the internet speaking, and reality is not the internet.”
In a recent turn of events, Helder Costa openly spoke about Benzema’s arrival, saying that his team is ‘excited about the arrival of the Balon d’Or winner.’ As if that is not enough, a club fan also showed a Karim Benzema edit on the big screen during their title celebrations.
Meanwhile, since the transfer is not confirmed, Real Madrid continue to be uninformed of Benzema’s decision. And this remains a major problem for the team from the capital city as their summer transfer plan hinges on the continuity of the Frenchman.
At the moment, the team is said to be closing in on the signing of Joselu from Espanyol. However, it must be noted that the forward will only be arriving on a season-long loan as Madrid already have big plans for the summer of 2024, with Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe both lined up.
