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Real Madrid winger Brahim Diaz was reportedly close to joining Barcelona at the age of 12. SPORT has reported (via Forbes) that Barca were monitoring Diaz as a 12-year-old and had also received the nod from his father to leave Malaga and join the Blaugrana. Diaz himself was excited by the prospect of joining the Nou Camp outfit, as per the report.
SPORT has claimed that Malaga's owner Sheikh Abdullah Bin Jassim Al Thani then intervened by making a 'dizzying offer' to the Diaz family, which convinced them to stay put. After staying in Malaga from 2010-2015, Diaz eventually joined Manchester City, where he stayed for the next four years.
Failing to make an impact in England, Diaz was sold to Real Madrid in January 2019 for a reported fee of £15.5 million (€17 million). His reported fee includes add-ons, which could see the transfer fee rise to £22 million (€24 million). The deal also includes a sell-on fee, of which City will reportedly receive 15% (which could then rise to 40% should Diaz join a Manchester-based club).
After making six appearances for Los Blancos, Diaz was loaned out to AC Milan, initially for one year and then for another two years. Diaz's current contract runs till 2025, with the player now back at the Santiago Bernabeu this season. Overall, he has made 49 appearances for Los Blancos, registering 10 goals and six assists.
Brahim Diaz's wonder goal draws comparison to Lionel Messi
Diaz scored a brilliant solo goal in Real Madrid's round of 16 clash against RB Leipzig in the UEFA Champions League on February 13. He dribbled past three-four players before curling in a beautiful effort into the corner of the net to score the only goal of the night, handing Los Blancos a crucial 1-0 win in the first leg.
Former Real Madrid man Michael Owen was in awe of the goal and compared to the strikes formerly scored by Lionel Messi. Owen said (via Metro):
"I saw what Brahim did to score his goal, and I saw Leo Messi."
Diaz did wonderfully well to fill in as the withdrawn forward in place of the injured Jude Bellingham, who also praised the goal on social media platform X.
Diaz has registered eight goals and three assists in 28 games this season.
