Arsene Wenger has revealed that he turned down both Real Madrid and England “two or three times” during his iconic 22-year reign at Arsenal .
The Frenchman is currently readying himself for a new challenge after agreeing to the early termination of a two-year contract at Emirates Stadium penned in the summer of 2017.
It remains to be seen what he will do next, with the 68-year-old intending to remain in football but ruling out a role at another English club after a lengthy stay in north London.
He could have headed to pastures new long before now, though, had he taken up one of the several offers to have come his way while overseeing Premier League title wins and a stadium move with Arsenal.
Wenger told b eIN Sports on the links to La Liga giants Madrid which followed him around for years: “When we built the stadium the banks asked me to commit for five years, the first time [Real Madrid called] it was inside the five years and I thought no I could not do that, that would betray my club.
“Real Madrid I think I turned down two or three times you know. It’s one of the teams I loved when I was a kid. I just felt that it was a very sensitive period for Arsenal.
“You are always tempted to go to Real Madrid because they offered me the chance to take control of the whole club.
“At the end of the day, I said no once, twice. I turned so many clubs down you could believe it. At the end of the day, I was happy where I was as well.”
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Having helped to transform the English game with his approach to management, Wenger was also much sought after by the Football Association during his time at Arsenal.
They were, however, to get the same response as Madrid whenever they attempted to lure a highly respected tactician into a new role.
Wenger said on England’s efforts to appoint him, with the door having been left open to a future role with the Three Lions : “I turned them down two or three times. But at that time the daily involvement for me was important.
“I have said many times that it should be an English guy who takes the England national team. It’s a big football country they have enough quality managers and I thought maybe it’s not right for me to do that.”