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Real Madrid’s former director of football Predrag Mijatovic has said that he attempted to bring Barcelona legend Andres Iniesta to the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium during his tenure.
Iniesta, who plies his trade at Japanese side Vissel Kobe, won it all with Barcelona during his legendary career. The La Masia graduate played a staggering 674 games for Barcelona’s senior team between 2002 and 2018, scoring 57 goals and providing 137 assists across competitions.
The central midfielder helped the Blaugrana win four UEFA Champions League and nine La Liga titles, among other honours.
Mijatovic, who served as Real Madrid's director of football between 2003 and 2006, has said that Los Blancos wanted Iniesta in their ranks and attempted to sign him. The former striker told Spanish outlet MARCA:
“I did want to sign him. We were, well, close. … I don’t know if we were close. But we took advantage of the fact that he was renewing his contract, he hadn’t reached an agreement.”
He added that Real Madrid made contact with Iniesta’s father and were even prepared to meet Iniesta's sizeable release clause.
“We spoke to his father. We tried to talk to his agent to take advantage of the opportunity. He had a high clause, and we were determined to pay it. He was a player I always looked up to, and he was a phenomenon,” Mijatovic added. “Although that signing didn’t happen, but there were talks with the agent through his father.”
Iniesta played 38 games against Los Merengues as a Barcelona player, scoring thrice and claiming eight assists.
Luka Modric content with Real Madrid’s performance despite Barcelona defeat
Barcelona inflicted a 1-0 defeat on Real Madrid in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semifinal at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Thursday (March 2) night. Eder Militao’s 26th-minute own goal, which came against the run of play, turned out to be the decider on the night.
The All Whites kept the Blaugrana under pressure from start to finish, enjoying 65% possession and attempting 12 shots. However, they lacked accuracy in front of goal, ending the game without lodging a single attempt on target.
In a post-match press conference, Luka Modric lamented Madrid’s lackluster finishing while urging his side to remain calm and confident for the second leg. Modric said (via Managing Madrid):
“It’s a shame because we did very well, although we lacked a bit of accuracy up front. We created a few chances, and we couldn’t finish them off, but I think we played a pretty good game. It’s a pity we couldn’t get at least a goal and go into the second leg with a draw, but there’s one more game left, and we have to be calm and confident that we can do better and win there.”
The second leg of the mouth-watering Copa del Rey semifinal will conclude at the Camp Nou on April t.
