“It wasn’t the right moment” – Martin Zubimendi opens up about rejecting Liverpool move in 2024 | OneFootball

Martin Zubimendi has explained why he turned down the opportunity to join Liverpool from Real Sociedad in August 2024.

A month after the midfielder helped Spain to their fourth European Championship triumph, he looked poised to become the first signing of the Arne Slot era at Anfield, but he chose to remain with the LaLiga outfit due to his ‘unconditional love‘ for them.

That apparently unbreakable bond had eroded by this summer as the 26-year-old not only left the San Sebastian-based club, but did so for the Reds’ direct Premier League title rivals Arsenal.

Zubimendi explains why he rejected Liverpool

Zubimendi has now given an interview to The Guardian in which he spoke about his reasons for declining the move to Liverpool last year but jumped at the chance to sign for the Gunners.

On rejecting the Reds, he explained: “When any proposal comes, the first question has to be whether to stay at La Real, and it wasn’t the right moment [to go]. I stayed and it was a hard season but I learned a lot. I wanted to step forward, take that weight after others went.”

He then outlined why Arsenal were able to entice him to England, saying: “I’ve always tried to choose the right time and I’m happy with how it happened in the end. I had watched Arsenal and I liked everything I saw, in terms of passion, youth, the feeling you got watching them.

“When Mikel Arteta called me… if you’ve ever spoken to him you’ll know that he can be very convincing. He’s mad about football, crazy about having everything under control, trying to get something from every little detail. He’s very clear on everything and the proposal he had was the best for me.”

(Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Liverpool swiftly moved on from Zubimendi rejection

Obviously it’s Zubimendi’s prerogative to decide what he feels is best for his career, and if he didn’t feel ready to sign for Liverpool 14 months ago, that’s 100% his choice to make.

That his ‘unconditional love’ for La Real gave way to signing for Arsenal may have irritated Reds supporters, although we can’t imagine there’ll have been too many regrets on Merseyside.

After the Spaniard turned us down, Ryan Gravenberch carved out a regular starting berth at Anfield alongside Alexis Mac Allister, and that duo were instrumental to our runaway Premier League title success last season.

To his credit, Zubimendi has made a strong start to life in north London, scoring twice in the Gunners’ win over Nottingham Forest in September and receiving a nomination for the Premier League Player of the Month award.

Liverpool will simply be eager to ensure that the 26-year-old doesn’t have a top-flight winner’s medal in his possession next May, with Slot’s side having no intention of letting Arsenal rob them of their crown too easily despite the unwanted swing of momentum in the title race over the past fortnight.