Real Madrid star explains Arsenal snub and makes stunning admission
Robin Bairner
- 16 Nov 2023 07:00 GMT
- 3 min read
Real Madrid’s Federico Valverde has revealed why he turned down Arsenal – and how the Premier League giants tried to persuade him to make the move with the promise of a long, hot shower.
Valverde, 25, was wanted by the Gunners when he was still playing with Penarol in Uruguay but he ultimately decided to move to the Bernabeu instead.
Now he has explained why he came to that decision in 2016.
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“If you Google me, you will see stories about how I almost went to Arsenal when I was 16. That’s maybe half-true,” Valverde wrote in his column for The Players’ Tribune.
“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’.
“You realise that your life is not your own in football. Especially at a young age, you feel more like a hostage. Even your family becomes a hostage. Football is an escape to a better life, especially for us in South America, and the vultures know that.”
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Arsenal make shower promise
Arsenal did try to talk him into changing his mind, but their promises were not enough for the versatile Uruguayan to make a U-turn.
“They put the pressure on you in a ‘nice’ way. ‘Damn, Fede, if you go to Arsenal, you’ll have a nice bed and a shower that stays warm for 30, 40 minutes! Who wouldn’t want that life?’” he revealed.
“They sent me on trial to London for a week, and I just wasn’t 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.”
Valverde has enjoyed great success at Real Madrid, where he has twice won LaLiga and has also claimed the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup and the 2023 Copa del Rey, vindicating his decision to knockback Arsenal.
