Brazilian reveals he turned down ‘concrete’ offer from Liverpool

Joe Williams
Former Liverpool target Guilherme Siqueira takes a throw-in

Former Atletico Madrid left-back Guilherme Siqueira claims he turned down a “concrete” offer from Liverpool “to wait for” Real Madrid.

The Brazil-born left-back retired in August 2018 having been without a club for a year after leaving Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2017.

Siqueira burst onto the scene at Udinese in the 2006-07 season before really impressing after earning a move to Spanish club Granada in 2010.


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Liverpool – who were managed by Brendan Rodgers at the time – and Real Madrid were interested in buying him in 2013 and he has now explained why he rejected a move to the Premier League club on a chaotic deadline day.

“Yes, of course (laughs). August 31, 2013. That day. When I finished the season with Granada, I was talking to some clubs, Madrid among them,” Siqueira told Spanish newspaper AS.

“They [Real Madrid] told us that if a good offer came for Coentrao… I rejected a concrete one [offer] from Liverpool to wait for Madrid, which might not happen. Time passed, I was in preseason with Granada and things did not progress. It was calm.

“If it wasn’t Madrid, it would be another club. Liverpool, other teams also from the Premier League had shown interest. And when I least expected it, the last day of the market.

“That I woke up on August 31 and had nothing. At eleven in the morning, I receive a call from my representative telling me about Benfica. I had teammates who had played there and had told me very good things about the club and I told him: ‘Let’s go’.

“And when we were getting on the plane, an offer came from Manchester United for Coentrao and Madrid called us: they want me to show up in Madrid to be able to sign, and I was on the plane to leave for Lisbon!

“So, I said to my representative: ‘But what do I do now?’ (laughs). For me it was a prize to go to Madrid. When I got to Lisbon, I turned on my mobile and I had calls from the president of Granada, from my representatives and, of course, from the people of Portugal.”