‘I spoke to many teams’ – Former Premier League winner admits Real Madrid wanted to sign him before Man City move | OneFootball

Former Leicester City and Manchester City winger Riyad Mahrez has opened up about one of the biggest ‘what-if’ transfers of his career, revealing that he held talks with Real Madrid before eventually moving to Manchester City.

Mahrez, who became one of the Premier League’s most exciting attacking players during Leicester City’s historic title-winning campaign, admitted that several European giants attempted to sign him before his eventual move to Pep Guardiola’s side in 2018.

What was said?

Speaking during an interview on Koora Break, relayed by AS, the Algerian international explained that Spanish football was a genuine possibility at one stage of his career.

While discussing the clubs interested in him, Mahrez said, “My dream was to play for Barcelona with Guardiola and Messi. I spoke to many teams before joining City. 

Riyad Mahrez held talks with Real Madrid. (Photo by Simone Arveda/Getty Images)

“I spoke to Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester United, but Leicester were asking for very high transfer fees to let me go, and I didn’t have a release clause, so I couldn’t join those teams.”

The former Leicester star also admitted that contract decisions earlier in his career ultimately prevented him from securing a move sooner.

“[N’Golo] Kante was smarter to include a €30 million release clause in his contract to join Chelsea, whereas I had turned it down, which forced me to stay at Leicester for two more years.”

Eventually, Mahrez secured his move to Manchester City, where he went on to enjoy enormous success under Pep Guardiola.

What did Real Madrid do?

Looking back now, the idea of Mahrez playing for Real Madrid feels like one of football’s biggest untold transfer stories.

Mahrez ultimately moved to Manchester City. (Photo by Abdullah Ahmed/Getty Images)

At the time, Los Blancos were entering a transitional period in attack, searching for younger players. 

Mahrez’s creativity, left foot, dribbling ability, and experience would have offered something completely different to Real Madrid’s attacking structure. Instead, the Spanish giants moved in another direction.

Coincidentally, the same summer Mahrez joined Manchester City, Real Madrid officially unveiled Vinicius Jr. after agreeing to sign him the previous year. 

Around the same period, Brahim Diaz also completed his move from Manchester City to the Santiago Bernabeu.