William Saliba has reportedly signed a new five-year contract at Arsenal, tying him to the club until the summer of 2030, amidst serious interest from Spanish giants Real Madrid.
The European giants have been long-term admirers of William Saliba, whose previous Arsenal contract was set to expire in two years, and Madrid were already plotting a Trent Alexander-Arnold-esque approach to land him as a free agent.
In recent days, Spanish media outlets have intensified the speculations, with fellow French defender Ibrahima Konate of Liverpool, whose contract ends next summer, also on their wishlist.
Madrid also planned to use William Saliba’s relationship with his national team captain Kylian Mbappé to lure him to the Bernabeu, but it appears the Arsenal defender was never keen on moving to the Spanish capital.
His decision to renew his Arsenal contract has been met with the conclusion that he rejected Real Madrid to continue his stay at Arsenal, a choice which is far-fetched because of the saying, “when Real Madrid comes calling, you don’t say no.”
However, for William Saliba, a move to Real Madrid was never an option considered, at least not until he signed his Arsenal contract, albeit such stance may change in the future. Still, it’ll be very difficult.
William Saliba at Arsenal | Love
When asked in a recent interview with Sky Sports Premier League about his first memory of Arsenal, William Saliba replied:
“My first shirt. My mum bought me a Henry shirt. I wore this shirt a lot! Where I’m from, not a lot [of Arsenal fans], they prefer Madrid, Barcelona, but me, I was a proper one [beating the Arsenal badge].”
William Saliba has come a long way before securing his place at Arsenal and developing into one of the best centre-backs in the world.
His early days at Arsenal, following his move from Saint-Étienne, were not at all smooth. He spent time on loan multiple times before finally returning with a world-class reputation and sealing his place in the heart of the club’s defence alongside Gabriel Magalhães.
He was a boyhood Gunner, and what could be more fulfilling than representing the club of your dreams with the potential of making history by taking them the distance they’ve never been?
For many players, the choices are Real Madrid and Barcelona, but William Saliba is among the few whose dreams differ — his is to play for Arsenal.
Rather than rejection, it was never considered, and no official bid was made to him. The news of his Arsenal renewal may upset Real Madrid’s plans, but in the end, he was never theirs to begin with.
Kehinde-Hassan Afolabi
