Massimiliano Allegri has revealed that he was approached by Real Madrid before the La Liga giants appointed Julen Lopetegui as manager.
Allegri was one of the names linked with the Real vacancy after Zinedine Zidane announced last month that he was stepping down at the Bernabeu following three successive Champions League titles.
The Juventus boss has confirmed that he did hold discussions with Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, but he decided to remain in Italy, where he has won four back-to-back Serie A titles.
Madrid subsequently announced that Lopetegui will take charge this season, which led the Spanish football association to dismiss him from the national team job.
“I said ‘no’ to Real Madrid. I did it on the phone to Florentino Perez because I had given my word to [Juventus] president (Andrea) Agnelli,” said Allegri.
“I thanked Florentino for the offer, but said I couldn’t accept it out of the respect I owed to Juventus.”
© TEAMtalk Media
