Real Madrid star was very close to joining Barcelona when he was 12 years old - Reports

Real Madrid star Brahim Diaz was close to joining Los Blancos' arch-rivals Barcelona at the young age of 12 but that never happened.

As stated in a recent report by SPORT, Brahim Diaz was close to wearing Bluagrana's colours but Malaga’s Qatari owner, Abdullah Al Thani made a bigger deal for Spainard.

According to the report, Diaz also wanted to join Barcelona. However, Abdullah Al Thani offered a staggering amount that Diaz's father allegedly wasn't able to deny. The former Manchester City midfielder's father later informed Barcelona that he wouldn't be able to deny Malaga's offer.

In 2015, he left Malaga's academy to join Manchester City's youth team. After spending three years at Etihad, he later joined Real Madrid in 2019. Later, he was loaned to AC Milan, where he made 124 appearances and recorded 18 goals and 15 assists.

Earlier this summer, he returned to Santiago Bernabeu from San Siro. He also scored Real Madrid's first goal against Braga in their UEFA Champions League fixture on Wednesday (November 8). This season, Diaz has majorly been used as a second-half substitute by Carlo Ancelotti. He has made 10 appearances for the Santiago Bernabeu outfit this season, most of them from the bench, and has scored two goals.

Real Madrid goalkeeper to miss three weeks of action due to injury

According to ESPN, Real Madrid goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga is expected to miss around three weeks of action after he suffered a muscular injury while training. Carlo Ancelotti's side took down the likes of Braga 3-0 on Wednesday. Brahim Diaz (29'), Vinicius Jr (58'), and Rodrygo (61') scored for the Santiago Bernabeu outfit.

The Spaniard joined Carlo Ancelotti's side earlier this summer on a season-long loan deal from Chelsea. Kepa Arrizabalaga was expected to start the match for Los Blancos. However, he was left out of the starting XI by Carlo Ancelotti after he sustained a muscular injury during the training session before the match.

At the place of the Arrizabalaga, Ukrainian goalkeeper Andriy Lunin started the match for Los Blancos. Playing his first UEFA Champions League game of the 2023-24 season, Lunin gave a stellar performance by keeping a clean sheet and making four saves.