PSG forward Kylian Mbappe, who was heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid in the 2022 summer, recently made a massive U-turn and instead signed an extension with PSG until 2025. He was not the first superstar to reject the La Liga champions.
Neymar
Mbappe’s PSG teammate Neymar had the opportunity to join Real Madrid when he was 13, but he did not accept. Even in 2013, Los Blancos chased the Brazilian forward before the player chose to join Barcelona.
Paul Pogba
In 2016, Pogba, who was then at Juventus, was linked with Real Madrid. However, the French midfielder instead chose to return to Manchester United.
Steven Gerrard
Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard once revealed that he had a couple of chances of moving to Real Madrid but he “resisted the temptation because of the big connection I had to my hometown club.”
Gianluigi Buffon
When Juventus got relegated to Serie B in 2006 following the Calciopoli scandal, Real Madrid wanted to sign their goalkeeper Buffon. Juventus allowed the player to make his own decision and Buffon chose to stay.