REAL MADRID star Federico Valverde has revealed that he rejected Arsenal at the age of 16.
The midfielder, now 26, was part of Penarol’s academy in his native Uruguay at the time.
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Valverde has revealed that “vultures” sent him to London for a week-long trial – but that he never felt “comfortable” in England.
Reliving the experience, he told The Players’ Tribune: “If you Google me, you will see stories about how I almost went to Arsenal when I was 16.
“That’s maybe half-true. 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.’
“‘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?'”
On the pressures that he resisted, Valverde added: “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. They put the pressure on you in a ‘nice’ way.
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“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 moving overseas, you don’t see the 100 who fail. I was either crazy enough or courageous enough to say no. Give me freezing showers as long as I can stay with my family. In my head, I was thinking I would stay in Uruguay for my whole career.”
Valverde would stay at Penarol until he turned 18 when, having just won a league title in Uruguay, he moved to Spain to sign for Real Madrid in 2016.
After a season in the club’s B Team, the all-action midfielder went on to establish himself as a key man with the LaLiga giants.
He has since gone on to win several trophies, including three league titles and two Champions Leagues.
Valverde has made 297 appearances for Real Madrid to date, chipping in with 29 goals and 27 assists from midfield.
On Tuesday night he even captained his side while filling in as a makeshift right-back in their 3-2 win at Manchester City.
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