Arsenal were seemingly on the brink of signing Karim Benzema from Real Madrid back in 2014, according to Barcelona legend Luis Suarez.
Suarez, speaking on La Mesa, has revealed he almost joined Real Madrid from Liverpool in that summer before the 2014 World Cup, though he of course ended up making the move to Barcelona and enjoyed a great career at the Nou Camp.
The Uruguay international insists it was always his dream to join Barca, but it seems Madrid was a genuine option for him as well, with Real ready to let Benzema move to Arsenal in order to pave way for this deal.
“Before the 2014 World Cup, Real Madrid wanted to sign me and everything was on track. They were planning to sell Benzema to Arsenal, it was all done,” Suarez said.
“When the World Cup started, Barca joined the race, and obviously I preferred Barca. With the bite situation, Madrid lowered their interest, and Barca became more interested.
“In the end I had both options and I chose Barcelona because it was my dream.”
Gunners fans will no doubt find this difficult to stomach, as Benzema went on to raise his game at the Bernabeu, winning multiple Champions League titles with them and also the Ballon d’Or in 2022.
It’s surreal to think that Los Blancos almost let Benzema go, and it could have made life very different at Arsenal towards the end of Arsene Wenger’s reign, though in fairness they also signed Alexis Sanchez in 2014, and Mesut Ozil the year before, and it didn’t quite prove enough to help them become more serious title challengers.
Arsenal are now back to their best under Mikel Arteta, and eventually poached another gem from Real Madrid in the form of Martin Odegaard, who initially joined in a low-cost move but whose value has now surely skyrocketed after his tremendous form in the Premier League.