What’s the Story?
Bayern Munich winger Arjen Robben claims he never wanted to leave Real Madrid but was left with no choice when Florentino Perez came in and signed Cristiano Ronaldo along with several other superstars.
The president ushered in the second era of the Galacticos after being voted back to power. Robben did not have a great second season at Madrid scoring only 7 times in 29 games. But the Dutchman never wanted to leave the club despite a poor season.
“It was a strange summer. Florentino Perez had returned as president. Then all these new signings arrived. Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaká, Benzemá and Xabi Alonso came for huge amounts of money,” Robben told Sport
Robben also explained that the club wanted to sell him to recoup some of the money they had spent on the other superstars. “They told me and my agent that the club could recover some money with my sale, but initially I didn’t want to go. I’d possibly had by best preseason, but I didn’t get the chance to show [my form].”
In case you didn’t know...
Arjen Robben spent two seasons at Los Blancos before moving on to Bayern Munich in 2009. He was bought from Chelsea in 2007 after an excellent three-year spell with the London club.
But things did not quite work out as he expected in Spain. Despite making 65 appearances over the two years he only managed to score 13 goals in that time. His impact was minimal but he still won the La Liga title during his time there.
The heart of the matter
Real Madrid saw how Lionel Messi had changed Barcelona’s fortunes and wanted their own world class player to rival the Catalans for the title. Cristiano Ronaldo had been instrumental for Manchester United and Madrid paid a record £80 million to secure his services.
The likes of Kaka, Benzema and others also arrived at the club marking the beginning of a new era at the Bernabeu. Robben was not seen as part of this project and was an economic sacrifice according to the Dutchman himself.
What’s next?
There is very little chance that Robben would even consider a return to the Bernabeu and even more implausible that Madrid would want him back. Despite spending huge sums of money Madrid went without a trophy for a few more years before Jose Mourinho finally ended Barcelona’s dominance.
Robben went on to become instrumental for Bayern Munich and lifted the Champions League with the Bavarians. He was also part of the team that defeated Real Madrid on their way to the final in 2012 where they eventually lost to Chelsea.
Robben might get the chance to face his old team in the latter stages of the Champions League and would love a goal against Los Blancos.
Sportskeeda’s take
Although Robben’s exit was an unfortunate one, it turned out for the better after his move to Bayern Munich. Madrid’s spending did not have an instant impact but Ronaldo has gone on to become arguably the best player in their history.
So in the end, it turned out to be a win-win for both sides.
