In a recent interview with radio DelSol, former Barcelona striker Luis Suarez has revealed that Real Madrid were ready to offload Karim Benzema to sign him in 2014.
Racking up an impressive 31 goals in 33 appearances for Liverpool that season, Suarez's performances saw him clinch the Golden Boot and piqued the interest of Los Blancos.
"Before the World Cup, Madrid wanted to sign me and everything was on track. They were planning to sell Benzema to Arsenal, it was all done," the Uruguayan claimed.
"But when the World Cup started, and the [Chiellini] bite episode occurred, Madrid lowered their interest a bit and then Barca came in the picture. In the end, I had both options but chose Barca."
Indeed, there were links suggesting Benzema's potential exit around that time, but the Frenchman eventually stayed at Bernabeu for almost a decade more and flourished during his time there.
It's safe to say that Real Madrid's decision not to pursue Suarez turned out to be the right one, and everything fell into place in the end.
Karim ended up as the club's second-best scorer and even secured a Ballon d'Or in his final years before departing for Al Ittihad in June 2023.
