Gomez: “I Turned Down Madrid for Fiorentina. We Wanted to Challenge Juventus”

Former Fiorentina striker Mario Gomez revealed that he turned down an offer from Real Madrid in order to join the Vola. The former Germany international spent two seasons in Florence after leaving Bayern Munich, and speaking with the Bild podcast (via ViolaNews), the 38-year-old revealed that he could have made the move to Spain instead:

“At the time, Atlético made me the best offer, but I was afraid of Diego Simeone. I knew that the way I played didn’t fit his style of football at all. Real wanted me as a challenger to Karim Benzema, who at that time was not going through a good phase. Carlo Ancelotti previously wanted to take me to Paris St-Germain. But when I left Bayern after four years, I thought: Florentino Pérez is the president of Real, it’s like Uli Hoeneß and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge at Bayern. And after I left Bayern with just a handshake at the end, I didn’t want that anymore. Unfortunately, from today’s point of view, because now I see things completely differently. Florence showed me that as a challenger, they wanted to dethrone Juve with a new team and a new stadium, and I thought it was nice.”

The locker room: “It started off great, with goals and victories. In another game, we drew 1-1 and after the final whistle, our South Americans turned up the music in the locker room and danced. I was so angry and thought: Hey, did we win? NO! This is exactly the difference between a top club and a challenger: they settle for much less, and that’s why today I tell all players: once you’re in one of the top 8 clubs, you have to make sure you’re there and stay there.”