9 Premier League stars who we can’t believe turned down Real Madrid

Real Madrid are the most successful club in European football history and able to attract the best players in the world to the Santiago Bernabeu – but a few big names have turned down a move to the Spanish giants.

A combination of Madrid’s rich history, money and the enviable lifestyle on offer in Madrid has enticed countless Galacticos to the club.

But this doesn’t mean Madrid’s unique sway in the transfer market has won over every player, as these nine Premier League stars can testify.

Steven Gerrard

Jose Mourinho’s pursuit of Gerrard while at Chelsea was no secret, and the Portuguese was thought to be interested in the England midfielder again when he moved from Inter to Real Madrid in 2010.

Frank Lampard was also reportedly on Mourinho’s shopping list that year, though the Liverpool man was higher in the pecking order, and the manager described the pair as “great players who always give everything”.

Of course, Mourinho ended up with neither in the end, but Real Madrid didn’t do too badly out of the window in question: fresh from their part in Germany’s World Cup run, Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira both made their way to the Bernabeu.

Luis Suarez

“My agent spoke with Real Madrid, and everything was on the right track,” Suarez recounted in an interview with La Mesa over his departure from Liverpool in 2014.

“They were thinking about selling Benzema to Arsenal, everything was already done.”

“When the World Cup started, Barcelona came into the race, and obviously I preferred Barcelona.

“With the situation of the bite, Madrid lost interest, and Barcelona became more interested. In the end I had both options and I chose Barcelona because it was my dream.”

Roy Keane

Real Madrid needed numbers in midfield and despite nearing the end of his career, the Irish legend was offered an 18-month deal by Los Blancos in 2006.

The former Manchester United captain considered the offer before turning it down and joining Celtic. Keane later admitted his regret at not joining the club in his autobiography.

“With hindsight, I should have said to myself, ‘Go. Go to Spain, live there for a year and a half, learn a different language, learn the culture. You might end up loving it. You might even stay there.’”

Patrick Vieira

Madrid let Claude Makelele leave in the summer of 2003, and within a year they began to realise the problems with assembling such a top-heavy squad without the best defensive shield of his generation to cover for them.

Vieira wasn’t quite as defensive-minded as his compatriot, but sporting director Emilio Butragueno said, “Patrick Vieira is a very interesting and important player for us and for our club,” and suggested a move was very close in 2004.

Instead, though, Vieira opted to give Arsenal another season before eventually joining Juventus. Real Madrid had to console themselves with the signing of Thomas Gravesen.

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David Silva

After watching City win the league with Aguero in attack, Real Madrid tried to cut him off at the source by removing his main supply line.

However, Silva was two years into his City stint and had no plans of leaving, with his agent confirming the Spain international was happy in Manchester. He was proven right, too, with Silva set to bring up 10 years at the Etihad before moving on in 2020.

Real Madrid made one major signing in the summer of 2012, with Luka Modric arriving from Tottenham. Silva’s decision worked out for pretty much everybody.

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Cesc Fabregas

Fabregas graduated from the famous La Masia academy, but made the move to Arsenal at the age of 16 and established himself as one of the finest midfielders in Premier League history.

While Fabregas returned to Barcelona in 2011, he later revealed that Madrid president Ramon Calderon made a last-ditch attempt to bring him to the Bernabeu.

In an interview, Fabregas revealed, “That you are wanted by Madrid, one of the biggest teams in history, is important.” When asked about his reply to Calderon, the World Cup winner admitted he did not say ‘no’ but instead said, ‘not now’.

It turned out that ‘not now’ really did mean ‘no’ as Fabregas never played for Madrid during his illustrious career.

Ashley Cole

Back in 2009, when Ashley Cole was going through a much-publicised divorce, he was offered an escape route from the UK with Real Madrid following Gabriel Heinze’s departure from the Spanish club.

“There were times when it was really hard,” the England defender admitted a few months later. “I did think about leaving but, of course, when I spoke to Ancelotti he made it clear he wanted me to stay and loved having me around.”

Madrid used that summer to strengthen their entire back-line, withAÁlvaro Arbeloa joining from Liverpool and centre-backs Raul Albiol and Ezequiel Garay also arriving, but the 2009-10 season saw Marcelo cement his status as first-choice left-back.

Eric Cantona

During the 1995-96 season, Madrid manager Jorge Valdano approached Cantona about a sensational potential move to Madrid.

“It seemed that he was very interested,” Valdano said in an interview with Movistar+. “He even asked me to change the Bernabeu’s grass because he thought it was a bit damaged.

“But he later got in contact with me again to tell me that he had changed his mind.”

Apparently Cantona told him that he would have to be ‘a very bad person’ to leave Manchester United during that time. What a guy.

David de Gea

This one wasn’t for the want of trying.

Approaching his peak as one of the Premier League’s best goalkeepers, De Gea agreed to move to Real Madrid in the summer of 2015 but the move collapsed after Manchester United sent the transfer documents two minutes after the transfer deadline.

Florentino Perez still wanted to make the move happen the following summer, but De Gea chose to sign a long-term contract extension with United, shutting down any possibility of leaving Old Trafford.

Madrid slummed it with Keylor Navas, winning two more Champions League trophies, before getting Thiabut Courtois in 2018.