As an alternative for the then-unwanted Karim Benzema, Luis Suarez has disclosed that he nearly signed for Real Madrid before Barcelona.
In a conversation with DelSol, Suarez discussed a possible transfer to Real Madrid that was contingent upon Karim Benzema’s departure from Arsenal. The renowned forward from Barcelona described how Los Blancos decided not to pursue him after his notorious bite on Giorgio Chiellini during the 2014 World Cup and the ensuing ban prevented Benzema from leaving Real Madrid.
About a possible transfer to Madrid, Suarez stated:
“Before the 2014 World Cup, Real Madrid wanted me as they wanted to sell Benzema to Arsenal. Barcelona at the time was interested as well, and Luis Enrique was pressing.
“The bite case happened and Barcelona continued to want to sign me despite the punishment. I will always be grateful for that.”
After that, Suarez joined Barcelona, where he joined forces with Messi and Neymar to form one of the best offensive trios in sports history. But in the end, Madrid’s patience with Benzema paid off, as the Frenchman left the team with four La Liga championships, five Champions Leagues, and a Ballon d’Or.
While all was going on, Arsenal bought Danny Welbeck that summer, but they still haven’t found a true solution to their long-standing striker dilemma.
Recently, Suarez joined Inter Miami and reconnected with Lionel Messi. The Uruguayan would have been persuaded to sign with Al-Nassr instead if he had moved to Madrid to play with Cristiano Ronaldo.
And that’s it. There were reports of a potential transfer between a certain Karim Benzema and Arsenal in the summer of 2014, according to Suarez.
Arsenal ‘planned a meeting’ with Madrid to explore a summer transfer for the £25 million French attacker, according to a 2014 Metro article.
However, as everyone is aware, Suarez left to sign with Barcelona, a rival team in La Liga, in the summer of 2014, reportedly for a figure of £75 million.
