After being linked with a move to Manchester United last summer, Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos has revealed that he did consider the switch.
The 30-year-old’s future was questioned for weeks in a long-running transfer saga, but he ultimately opted to sign a new five-year deal with the Spanish giants.
As he continues to push for silverware both at home and in Europe this season with United hoping to salvage their campaign with an FA Cup triumph, he has conceded that he did consider a move to England.
“Yes,” he simply responded to COPE when asked if there was an official offer from United. “For a moment I thought about a change of scenery, but in the end my priority was always Real Madrid and I thought about that for other reasons.”
While he moved to deny suggestions that a switch to Chelsea could be a possibility this summer, the Spanish international went on to discuss David de Gea, who was linked with the reverse switch last year from Manchester to Madrid.
“To speak about players who are not here would be a lack of respect for my teammates, Keylor [Navas], Kiko Casilla, Ruben the third keeper, but I have always said the best players should be here, and if the people at the top consider that he must come, for me De Gea is one of the best.”
It remains to be seen which players come and go at the Bernabeu this summer, as coach Zinedine Zidane could decide to shuffle his pack ahead of his first full season in charge of the club.
As for United, they have settled on a centre-back pairing of Chris Smalling and Daley Blind this summer, while De Gea has become a crucial part of their limited success after moving past the initial uncertainty over his future which cost him his place in the starting line-up.
Similarly to Madrid, the Red Devils also face an important summer where change could be the buzzword. However, it is clear that Ramos doesn’t have any intention of ‘changing his scenery’ this time round.