Kai Havertz was reportedly desperate to join Real Madrid during this summer's transfer window.
The Germany international is on the brink of leaving Bayer Leverkusen for Chelsea, with the Blues expected to make an announcement on the 21-year-old in the coming days.
Frank Lampard's side are believed to have agreed a deal which will see them pay an initial €80m (£71.3m) plus €20m (£17.8m) in add-ons, making it the most expensive transfer in the club's history.
However, according to Marca, Havertz had his heart set on a switch to the Bernabeu in the current window, even turning down the advances of Bayern Munich.
The report claims that Los Blancos were well positioned to sign the German before the coronavirus pandemic, which has had a huge impact on the Spanish club's finances.
Havertz's agent is believed to have been in contact with Zinedine Zidane's side this summer to determine whether a deal could still be possible, but Chelsea have since swooped in to sign him.
The versatile attacker has scored 38 times for Leverkusen over the last two seasons.