SAMUEL - I NEARLY JOINED REAL
AS ROMA defender Walter Samuel has revealed he was close to joining Spanish giants Real Madrid on the eve of the Champions League meeting between the Italian and Spanish champions.
The 23-year-old Argentine ace, who joined Roma last summer for from Boca Juniors. Admitted he was close to making the switch to Santiago Bernabeu before joining the Giallorossi.
The powerful central defender revealed that the move to Real collapsed over his fee, but that he was glad to have moved to Roma anyway.
"Yes I could have joined Real, but then the negotiation failed and now I'm thinking only about playing with AS Roma and to honour this jersey."
Real had targeted Samuel as a long-term replacement to captain Fernando Hierro, but Roma snapped him for a then world record fee of £12.5 million for a defender and he played a pivotal role in the club's first Scudetto success in 18 years.
