Fiorentina forward Lucas Beltran has claimed that Real Madrid were interested in him last summer, before his move to La Viola was consummated.
The 22-year-old made the switch last summer for €12.6m from River Plate, and told Eurosport that Los Blancos were one of three teams that he could have moved to last summer.
“Roma, Fiorentina and Real [Madrid] contacted me. I chose Florence because I felt it. One day I woke up and told my brother ‘I want to go to Fiorentina’. It was the club that showed the most interest in me,” he told Eurosport, as carried by Cadena SER.
“I’m very happy here. I think I made a good decision.”
Beltran currently has eight goals and an assist during his time at the Artemio Franchi in his first season at the club. He also chose to represent Argentina over Italy.
Beltran was signed last summer, when Los Blancos were without a main striker initially following the exit of Karim Benzema. It may well have been the case that Real Madrid were keen on a younger forward before they ended up bringing Joselu Mato on loan from Espanyol. The latest is that Los Blancos will execute their €1.5m buy option on the veteran Spain international.
