Former Newcastle United star Faustino Asprilla has revealed that he had an option to join Real Madrid when he was at the Tyneside club.
The Colombian joined the Magpies from Parma in February 1996 and spent over two years with them before returning to the Italian club in the summer of 1998.
Asprilla has told ESPN F360, relayed by Antena 2, that Newcastle wanted to sign Davor Šuker, and as part of the deal, they were willing to let him join Real Madrid. However, the double deal didn’t take shape because of one key individual.
“At Newcastle, they asked me if I wanted to play for Real Madrid, to swap for Davor Šuker. He was going to England and I was going to Spain, but Capello was there and he didn’t accept,” he said.
Šuker spent three years with Los Blancos before leaving them for Arsenal in 1999 while Fabio Capello had two spells with Real Madrid during his managerial career. The latter’s first spell lasted for 12 months during the 1996/97 season.
The deal to take Šuker to Newcastle and the South American to Real Madrid would have likely been pushed forward during the summer of 1996.
Asprilla was a fan favourite during his time at Newcastle and was part of Kevin Keegan’s squad which finished second in the 1995/96 season. The former striker managed 18 goals and 19 assists from 63 games for the Magpies.
