Medhi Benatia reveals Real Madrid and PSG interest in Juventus star Miralem Pjanic
Morocco super star and former Juve team-mate Medhi Benatia has revealed Real Madrid were and PSG interest in signing Miralem Pjanić.
The Bosnia-Herzegovina midfielder has been linked with a move away from Turin for the past years but the play-maker continues to flourish at Juve as seasons go by.
This season, he has been tipped to replace Jorginho at Chelsea as Maurizio Sarri wants to exchange Pjanic for the Italian midfielder.
But before this rumour, carried out by Corriere dello Sport, the Bosnian has been linked with a move to Barcelona and Manchester City in 2018 where the latter was reportedly snubbed by the Juve star, and Barcelona contacted and later failed to meet his then €70m asking price that prevented the transfer from happening, claimed Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo.
Beginning of this season, PSG and Real Madrid knee signing Pjanic but Madrid couldn’t agree a deal for the Bosnian due to differences between Real President Florentino Perez who favored Pjanic’s move to Santiago Bernabeu and manager Zidane, who instead, dreamt of signing Paul Pogba from Manchester United but failed in the end.
At the receiving end, Paris Saint-Germain swerved to complete a £30million move for former Everton midfielder Idrissa Gueye.
During January’s transfer window, Madrid, PSG despite signing Idrissa Gueye and Chelsea were reportedly monitoring the possibility of signing Pjanic.
As the summer transfer window approaches faster, Pjanic’s former team-mate and Moroccan star Benatia have indicated that Real Madrid were and PSG still knee completing Pjanic transfer at the end of this season.
“He still has three years on his contract and Juve are doing well. “It is true that in every window he has the chance to leave: PSG are interested in him, and before that even Real have looked at him but, in the end, he has stayed with the club,” Benatia told Tuttosport.
“His love for Juventus, where he feels confidence, prevailed: in the dressing room he is one of the leaders, he knows how to make himself heard and respected.
“But, we know, situations can change; the club could decide to sell him. But if it depends on the player, he will stay in Turin. He never told me he wanted to move; on the contrary. With Juve he changed his mentality: now he plays to win, always.”
