Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has admitted that he held secret talks with Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger.
The recently installed Madrid supremo is a known admirer of Wenger and had moved to bring the Frenchman to the Bernabeu following the dismissal of Juande Ramos at the end of the Primera Liga season.
Perez, who already has plans in place to splash the cash and sign Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo and Franck Ribery, has since appointed former Villarreal coach Manuel Pellegrini after finding that Wenger was totally committed to Arsenal.
"From the beginning we have worked on two possibilities - Wenger and Pellegrini," Perez said of Wenger in French publication L'Equipe.
"We have always been attracted by the Frenchman and we talked to him several times.
"He didn't come because he feels very responsible about what has happened and what will happen at Arsenal.
"He didn't want to abandon the club that he has given such a lot to.
"But as our director general Jorge Valdano said: 'Pellegrini is the Wenger of Spanish football'."
Wenger had been criticised in certain quarters for failing to land a trophy with Arsenal last season.
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