Liverpool star 'was close' to signing for Real Madrid

Stuart Telford

• 7 Apr 2023 11:22 BST
• 3 min read

Harvey Elliott 'was close' to joining Real Madrid from Fulham in 2018 before Liverpool concluded a transfer for the England youth international the following year.

Elliott burst onto the scene with Fulham in 2018, making his debut as a 15-year-old whilst playing two age groups ahead of the curve with England.

Naturally, he attracted the interest of some of Europe's biggest clubs, and Madrid came in for him a year before he made a €1.7 million move to Liverpool in the summer of 2019.

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What did Elliott say?

"Yeah, I did," Elliott answered when asked by the We Are Liverpool podcast if he had the chance to join Real. "[But] it was a number of things to be honest and I was close to going to Madrid, but as soon as Liverpool came in that was it, my heart was set on it because of being a Liverpool fan.

"All of the family - ,it was my dad's dream to play for Liverpool but he didn't quite make it. My brother as well, he's the biggest Liverpool fan I've seen. He knows things even I don't know and I'm the one that plays for the team!"

The path from Liverpool to Real Madrid is relatively well trodden, with Steve McManaman, Michael Owen and Xabi Alonso all having made the move over the years, but Real would have little chance of acquiring Elliott for €1.7m now.

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Now an England under-21 international, Elliott is under contract at Anfield until June 2027, and is currently valued at €34.7m by FootballTransfers' in-house algorithm.

Real knocked Liverpool out of the Champions League at the last 16 stage last month - part of what has been an abject campaign for Jurgen Klopp and his men.

Klopp is expected to be given this summer to oversee a clear-out at Anfield, but Elliott is one of those likely to be save given his combination of age, talent, and the fact he is a midfielder, a position Liverpool are otherwise short in.