Brentford midfielder Josh McEachran has revealed he turned down a five-year contract from Real Madrid during his time as a promising teenager at Chelsea.
McEachran, 23, joined Chelsea age seven and developed into one of the most promising young talents in European football. Alongside the likes of Ross Barkley and Connor Wickham, McEachran was part of the England Under 17 team that won the 2010 European Championship.
It was at this point that Madrid, as well as Manchester United, expressed an interest in signing the prodigious midfielder.
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"Real Madrid and Manchester United came in when I was 16," McEachran told the Daily Mail ahead of his return to Stamford Bridge with Brentford in the FA Cup fourth round on Sunday.
“I could not believe it when my agent said ‘Real Madrid want you’. Unbelievable, isn’t it?
“Madrid had the contract waiting for me and they wanted all my family to fly over to sign a five-year contract, but I said, ‘No, I want to stay at Chelsea’.
“I believed that I was going to make it [at Chelsea]. When I made my debut I thought, ‘Ah, that was a good choice for me to say no to Real Madrid,’ but looking back now maybe I should have [gone].”
McEachran was training with the Chelsea first team at the age of 15 and made his debut at 17 in the Uefa Champions League. Under Carlo Ancelotti, he made 17 appearances for Chelsea during the 2010/11 season in what was expected to be his breakthrough year.
However, when Ancelotti was sacked and replaced by Andre Villas-Boas for the following season, McEachran saw his chances limited, instead being subjected to five separate loan moves before completing a permanent switch to Brentford in 2015.
“I was so close. We were 1-0 down to Man City away and [Ancelotti] brought me on. He clearly thought highly of me,” McEachran said.
“Then unfortunately Carlo left, Andre Villas-Boas came in. He brought in his own players. It’s hard for a 17 year old to earn that trust again.”
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