The former French coach looked back on the episodes where he rebuffed the biggest European giants.
Former Arsenal coach Arsène Wenger has admitted that Real Madrid and FC Barcelona tried to recruit him at the time when he was enjoying good results with the Gunners.
Wenger turned down Real twice
Arsène Wenger has not coached since his departure from Arsenal in 2018. He therefore has plenty of time to dwell on the opportunities he did not seize: “(I refused) Real Madrid two or three times and Barcelona once.”
The Alsatian, however, has no regrets: “I was involved in a project to build the new stadium to replace Highbury and it had to be funded. We paid for everything ourselves, we didn’t receive help from anyone. We paid for it on the pitch, by selling the most expensive players and signing cheaply.”
“That’s why I didn’t go to Madrid, I wanted to finish this project, Wenger continued. I turned down some of the best teams in Europe and today I’m quite proud of it. I showed commitment, loyalty and I proved that a project could be brought to fruition. I wasn’t looking for immediate fame, but something deeper. In this life, you can only do what you think is right. I don’t know if I made good choices, but I did what I wanted.”
