Federico Valverde has revealed he decided to join a Premier League club before signing for Real Madrid.
However, the midfielder was turned down after spending time on trial in England.
As a 16-year-old, Valverde trained with Arsenal at their London Colney base.
He was still part of boyhood club Penarol’s academy back in Uruguay, but dreamed of joining the Gunners after his time at the club.
Valverde told Marca: “I was 16. I said: ‘That’s it. This is my club. I’m going to grow here.’
“In Uruguay, the Premier League was watched a lot. I imagined a future there.
“I enjoyed it and I trained with spectacular players.
“I don’t know if he’ll remember me, but Dibu (Emi Martinez) was one of the ones who helped me the most in everything, along with (Hector) Bellerín, Alexis (Sanchez) and (Santi) Cazorla.
“I didn’t know English and they had to explain all the work to me.”
However, then manager Arsene Wenger would pass on the opportunity to sign the teenager.
Valverde instead joined Real Madrid two years later as an 18-year-old.
During the same transfer window, Wenger swooped to add Granit Xhaka to his midfield at the Emirates Stadium.
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Valverde’s Real Madrid trophy haul
LaLiga – 3
Copa del Rey – 1
Champions League – 2
UEFA Super Cup – 2
Club World Cup – 2
Spanish Super Cup – 3
Meanwhile, Valverde spent time in Los Blancos’ reserves and on loan at Deportivo La Coruna before breaking into the first-team.
He has since gone on to make 275 appearances for the Spanish giants during eight years in Madrid.
Across those matches, the Uruguayan has scored 24 goals and provided a further 25 assists.
Valverde has also won 13 major trophies with the club, including two Champions Leagues, two Club World Cups and three La Liga titles.
At international level, he has seven goals in 66 caps for Uruguay, even captaining La Celeste at the 2022 World Cup.