Josh McEachran has revealed that he turned down the chance to join Real Madrid at the age of 16.
The central midfielder, now with Brentford, was widely regarded as one of the best teenagers in European football during his youth career as he impressed in the Chelsea academy.
The 23-year-old only managed 22 first-team appearances for Chelsea, however, before moving on to join Brentford in 2015 after five separate loan spells.
The former England Under-21 international has claimed that he could have joined either Real Madrid or Manchester United at the age of 16, but was intent on making the grade at Chelsea.
"Real Madrid and Manchester United came in when I was 16," McEachran told The Telegraph. "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 has made 37 appearances for Brentford since joining the Championship club in 2015.
Matt Law
