Barcelona legend reveals that Real Madrid tried to sign him – twice

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Carles Puyol has claimed that Real Madrid made two attempts to sign him during his time at Barcelona, while the Catalan club’s bitter rivals also made a move for Ronaldinho.

Carles Puyol

The former Barça captain retired in 2014 after becoming synonymous with the club during almost 20 years at Camp Nou. 

Puyol led Barcelona to six La Liga, two Copa del Rey and three Champions League titles during his playing career.

However, things could have gone differently if he had been seduced by approaches from the Spanish capital, which he claimed came in 2001/02 and 2004/05.

"Real Madrid appointed [Jose Antonio] Camacho as their new coach and he wanted me and Ronaldinho," Puyol told TV3, in reference to the second approach.

"They tried to sign me on those two occasions, but I was at the best club in the world and wanted to win titles there. So I stayed."

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Alasdair Mackenzie

Alasdair Mackenzie is a freelance journalist based in Rome, and a FourFourTwo contributor since 2015. When not pulling on the FFT shirt, he can be found at Reuters, The Times and the i. An Italophile since growing up on a diet of Football Italia on Channel 4, he now counts himself among thousands of fans sharing a passion for Ross County and Lazio.