Suarez reveals he nearly signed for Real Madrid in 2014 before his move to Barca

Luis Suarez has revealed he almost joined Real Madrid before the 2014 World Cup before his eventual move to Barcelona from Liverpool.

The Uruguayan was hot property in the summer of 2014, having just plundered 31 goals in 37 games for the Reds and collected the PFA Player of the Year and Premier League Golden Boot awards.

His displays led to an Anfield exit for the forward, but the destination could have been very different.

Speaking in an interview with radio station DelSol 99.5 FM, the striker, who recently moved to MLS club Inter Miami, admitted he was close to joining Real Madrid before the controversy surrounding him at the World Cup saw them cool their interest.

Suarez says that a deal for Karim Benzema to move to Arsenal was in motion and he was set to replace the Frenchman at the Bernabeu, but in the end, when Barcelona joined the race, he chose to join the Catalans.

'Before the 2014 World Cup, Real Madrid wanted to sign me, and everything was on track.' Suarez revealed.

'They were planning to sell Benzema to Arsenal; it was all done. When the World Cup started, Barca joined the race, and obviously I preferred Barca.

'With the bite situation, Madrid lowered their interest, and Barca became more interested… In the end I had both options and I chose Barca because it was my dream.'

The bite situation Suarez was referring to was his clash with Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini in Uruguay's final group game, where the striker was seen taking a chunk out of the centre-back's shoulder with his teeth.

It was the third time in his career that Suarez was involved in biting a teammate and was subsequently banned for nine international matches - missing the rest of the tournament - and was forced to pay a huge fine.

According to