Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images
Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images
Chelsea’s squad in 2010 were full of superstars under Carlo Ancelotti, but one Spain international has admitted he could’ve been added to that group before joining Real Madrid instead.
The likes of Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba and John Terry were fresh off winning the Premier League in Ancelotti’s first season at the club, and ready to try and defend their crown.
The Blues spent the majority of their transfer budget that summer signing younger players who were set to make more of an impact in the future. Ramires, Daniel Sturridge and Tomas Kalas were amongst those signed before the campaign got underway.
A statstical comparison showing the number of duels won by Chelsea FC midfielders Valentin Barco and Romeo Lavia vs Hull City.
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Chelsea almost signed Sergio Canales in 2010
The lack of standout names could have looked very different if they had got a deal over the line for Sergio Canales, who was just 19 years old at the time.
He would end up joining Real Madrid, but admitted to El Camino de Mario that he had previously met with Ancelotti about the prospect of moving to Stamford Bridge.
He said: “Then they did go to London and met with Ancelotti at Chelsea. And then the strongest interest, honestly, came from Manchester City. This was just before I signed for Real Madrid, when they still hadn’t really done any major talks with me.
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“And there… I mean, City was absolutely crazy. It was outrageous in every sense, from every angle. And, well, in the end everyone wanted me, if I’m being honest. Everyone wanted me to join their team straight away. But I didn’t see myself there.
“My first choice, honestly, was always to renew with Racing (Santander). The problem was that at the time there was a president… We would call Racing and say, ‘I’m going to be out of contract in January. Renew my contract. I mean, how am I going to be out of contract?’
“So we said, ‘Look, that’s it. I’m sorry, but I was going to leave for free, so we’re asking for a transfer fee to be paid.’ So then I ended up at Madrid. Obviously, when they signed me, Pellegrini was the manager, and it’s true that the idea was basically, ‘Okay, I’ll go back on loan to Racing.’ But then what happened, happened.”
Despite the clearly promising future he had ahead of him, it wouldn’t be until 2019 when the attacking midfielder would make his debut for Spain.
Canales’ career may well have worked out even better if he had chosen the Blues over Real Madrid, with his career there not taking off to the levels he would’ve hoped.
The Spaniard would only make 10 league appearances for the Galacticos, and wouldn’t actually find regular football for a side until he made the move to Real Sociedad in 2014.
The 2010/11 season did not see Chelsea retain their Premier League trophy, and the January transfer window saw their attention turn to signing Fernando Torres for a Premier League record-fee from Liverpool.