Why I turned down Arsenal’s juicy offer – Valverde
Federico Valverde: stays in Madrid till 2027
Published By: Taiwo Okanlawon
By Taiwo Okanlawon
Uruguayan footballer and Real Madrid central midfielder, Federico Valverde has given a reason why he turned down a chance to join Arsenal.
Valverde came close to joining the Premier League giant after a trial at the club back in 2016. But instead, the Uruguay international opted to sign for Real from Penarol.
Speaking on the development in his column for The Players’ Tribune, Valverde said he snubbed the opportunity to join Arsenal because he ‘never wanted to go to England’.
“If you Google me, you will see stories about how I almost went to Arsenal when I was 16. That is maybe half-true,” Valverde revealed.
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“It’s nothing against Arsenal, but I never wanted to go to England. At that time, the business side of football took over.
“Certain people were telling me, “Who wouldn’t want to go play for Arsenal? You want to stay here in Uruguay? That’s crazy!”. What they were really saying under their breath was, “We can all make a lot of money if you go.”
“They sent me on trial to London for a week, and I just was not 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 in moving overseas, you don’t see the 100 who fail,” he stated.
