Asamoah Gyan
Black Stars captain Asamoah Gyan has revealed that Real Madrid were one of the clubs interested in signing him before his surprise loan move to Al-Ain in the UAE in 2011.
Gyan joined Sunderland after a fantastic performance for the Black Stars at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
Gyan was an immediate hit at Sunderland, putting up great performances that earned him rave reviews, including what the player has now revealed, courting interest from Spanish giants Real Madrid, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspurs.
Instead, Sunderland chose to loan him to Al-Ain initially before the deal was made permanent.
Gyan told Rokerreport: ”I felt like the club wanted to do business at that time rather than have the player. There was some interest in me the January beforehand; Liverpool, Tottenham and even talk of Real Madrid, but I was playing well and when you play well naturally clubs are interested in you – but I didn’t expect the club to let me go the way they did.
”When Al Ain made the offer, Sunderland came to me and told me it was a loan deal for one season and I think the fee they were offering blew their minds considering it was only a loan deal. They were looking at the figures.
”At that time I was the lead man at the club, and they were letting me go on loan? I didn’t understand it. I was the lead striker and they were just letting me go on loan. I was just thinking it should be a permanent deal, or nothing else.”
-Adomonline