Jermaine Pennant: I was denied a Real Madrid move

Former Liverpool winger Jermaine Pennant was set to sign for Real Madrid until Juande Ramos vetoed the move, according to the Englishman.

Pennant, now 35, enjoyed a good spell with the Reds between 2005 and 2009 which included an appearance in the 2007 Champions League final.

The England U21 international also spent time in England’s top flight with the likes of Arsenal and Stoke City before most recently playing for non-league side Billericay Town.

But, according to the man himself, Pennant’s career could have been so much different had a transfer to Real Madrid gone through in 2008/09.

According to Pennant, Madrid had expressed their interest in signing the winger from Liverpool as they needed someone to fill a gap left on the right side of their team.

And on the final day of the transfer window, he had a call to say the move was on its way before Ramos, who was Real Madrid manager at the time, kicked up a fuss.

“Real Madrid wanted to sign me when [the former Spurs manager] Juande Ramos, was in charge there,” he told FourFourTwo.

“The board wanted to do the deal as they wanted a right-winger.

“On transfer deadline day I got a call from my agent, saying, ‘You could be going to Madrid – keep your phone on.’

“But the board had gone over the manager’s head, so he started to get upset, and to placate him they pulled the plug on the deal.

“The club wanted me; the manager didn’t.”

Pennant would eventually get his move to Spain a year later, with Real Zaragoza, but it only lasted a season with the winger admitting he struggled to get used to the “traditional Spain” surroundings.

He added: “The football was good. I loved how technical all the teams were, even the ones down at the bottom. The weather was nice. The pitches were immaculate.

“But Zaragoza was a bit difficult to live in as it was traditional Spain – it wasn’t very multicultural.

“On days off, I would go to Madrid or Barcelona for a good time. Once, I went to Barcelona for a night out and then got the train back on the morning of training, but I felt so bad that I couldn’t go in, so I told them I wasn’t well.

“The club doctor came to my house to check on me, but I didn’t answer the door. I think they knew!”

Jermaine Pennant’s Spanish struggles

After falling out of the Liverpool team during the 2008/09 season, Pennant would ultimately leave the club in the summer going to Real Zaragoza.

The winger played 26 times for Zaragoza in his sole season for the club but failed to score and recorded just two assists.

Failing to acclimatise, Pennant joined Stoke City on loan a season later, making the move permanent in January 2011.

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