Real Madrid star Federico Valverde has now revealed that he once rejected a move to Arsenal.

The Uruguay international is one of the best players in La Liga right now. He is a tremendous talent, but before Real Madrid snapped him up in 2016, he spent a week on trial at Arsenal. Valverde now explains why he rejected the Gunners.

The Uruguay international apparently received a call from Arsenal and was asked to come for a trial. He spent a week in North London and trained with the Gunners.

Numerous reports have claimed that Arsenal were very close to signing Valverde at the time, but the Uruguayan has now revealed that he never wanted to move to England.

Even the week he spent on trial was because he was forced to by the people around him - he just wasn't interested in joining Arsenal or any other Premier League side.

Valverde wrote in The Players' Tribune: "If you Google me, you will see stories about how I almost went to Arsenal when I was 16. That's maybe half-true. It's nothing against Arsenal, but I never wanted to go to England. At that time, the business side of football took over.

MORE ARSENAL STORIES

"Certain people were telling me, "Who wouldn't want to go play for Arsenal? You want to stay here in Uruguay? That's crazy!" What they were really saying under their breath was, "We can all make a lot of money if you go." You realize that your life is not your own in football. Especially at a young age, you feel more like a hostage. Even your family becomes a hostage.

"Football is an escape to a better life, especially for us in South America, and the vultures know that. They put the pressure on you in a "nice" way. Damn, Fede, if you go to Arsenal, you'll have a nice bed and a shower that stays warm for 30, 40 minutes! Who wouldn't want that life?"

"They sent me on trial to London for a week, and I just wasn't comfortable. If you only think of material things, it sounds great. But we are not robots. The reality was that my family couldn't come to London with me. I'd have to live alone, not speaking the language, at 16 years old. For every one kid who succeeds moving overseas, you don't see the 100 who fail.

"I was either crazy enough or courageous enough to say no. Give me freezing showers as long as I can stay with my family. In my head, I was thinking I would stay in Uruguay for my whole career."

The Uruguay international mainly plays as a central midfielder but he has been used on the right as well by Galacticos boss Carlo Ancelotti.

Real Madrid see Valverde as the future of their club, which is why they tied him down to a new contract until the summer of 2029 and have slapped a EUR1 billion [PS871.5m] release clause in the deal. (The Athletic)

Arsenal have been linked with a move to sign Valverde in recent years as well, but Stan Kroenke will have to part ways with a huge chunk of his net worth to get him. That is never going to happen.