David Luiz: Real Madrid among 10 clubs who missed out on ex-Arsenal and Chelsea star
Robin Bairner
- 17 Sept 2021 10:01 BST
- 3 min read
David Luiz’s spell at Arsenal might have finished with the Brazil international defender being released at the end of his contract, but there was still plenty of interest in the veteran.
Over the years, David Luiz had a difficult relationship with the supporters of Arsenal and Chelsea. He was seen as a figure of fun due to the reputation he gained for giving away goals due to cheap errors.
This held true over his time at Arsenal to an extent. In 53 Premier League matches, he was guilty of directly giving away a goal on two occasions due to errors. This trails over goalkeeper Bernd Leno and is equal with midfielder Granit Xhaka, who made more errors leading to shots, over his time at the club.
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Nevertheless, there was apparently something of a scramble to sign him in the summer before he ultimately moved back to Flamengo.
Globo reports that David Luiz even fielded a phone call from Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti over his availability. Given Los Blancos’ lack of centre-backs, it would not have been a huge surprise to see them turn to the 34-year-old in an act of desperation. That there was at least tentative interest is therefore plausible.
Benfica came closest to signing him. Indeed, he would have gone back to Lisbon had they been able to make room in their budget by selling players.
There was Premier League interest, too: Everton and West Ham both enquired about David Luiz.
Other clubs competing in European football also took notice of his availability as a free agent. Italian side Lazio and Ligue 1 clubs Marseille and Lille both followed him, while Al-Rayyan from Saudi Arabia, where his former PSG coach Laurent Blanc is in charge, tried to tempt him with a bumper offer.
Back home, former Arsenal team-mate Willian tried to talk him into a switch to Corinthians, while Atletico MG were also interested.
Instead, Chelsea is one of the major reasons that David Luiz finds himself in Flamengo. He will meet his former club in the Club World Cup, which is a target that is said to be motivating him immensely.
David Luiz might not have played since 2 May, but he is said to be in good shape and close to making his Flamengo debut.
