Suso was at Liverpool for just over four years before moving to AC Milan in January 2015.
The Reds initially signed the Spaniard for their academy from Cadiz in November 2010 and his compatriot Rafael Benítez was then in charge at Anfield.
Prior to him joining the Reds, Real Madrid were keen on signing the current Milan player. Los Blancos even found an agreement with Cadiz to acquire his services, but the deal never took shape.
During an interview with Sky Italia, Suso gave an insight on how close he came to joining Madrid before moving to Liverpool.
“I was struggling for four months when I went to Liverpool when I was 17. At that time there was Rafa Benitez and he used to ask the families if they wanted to be with their children. He told me he would have preferred if I went to England alone, without them,” Suso said, as quoted by Milan News.
“I had an attorney who worked in my city and before going to Liverpool there was the interest of Real Madrid. One day he called me and told me that Real wanted to buy me and that he had talked to my club [Cadiz] and they had found the agreement.
“I had taken the first plane and I had seen everything, Valdebebas (Real Madrid training centre), the school, where I would sleep with my companions. I was one step away from going, then the same day he told me that Liverpool was there.”
The winger gave a detailed reason behind his decision to snub Real Madrid for Liverpool.
“It was rare and strange to see players aged 18-19 playing in La Liga at that time. In England, on the other hand, there were much younger players who played in competitions like the FA Cup and the Carling Cup,” the player explained.
“Since I would have liked to learn English, considering it important for the future also personally, I chose Liverpool.
“I thought that to play in Spain there would always be time, while I didn’t know if there would be another chance to play for Liverpool.”
Suso went on to make his first team debut for the Merseyside club in September 2012, but failed to cement a place in their side.
