{
  "id": 14201022,
  "title": "Manchester United legend reveals he had a chance to join Real Madrid: ‘Would have been nice’",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/manchester-united-legend-reveals-he-had-a-chance-to-join-real-madrid",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-13T12:45:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/manchester-united-legend-reveals-had-124500973.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Manchester United legend Antonio Valencia has revealed that he had a chance to play for Real Madrid during his playing career. In a recent interview, Valencia admitted that he had an opportunity to join Los Blancos but decided to stay with Manchester United instead. He expressed pride in being linked with Real Madrid and praised the interest shown by the club in a player like himself. Valencia also interacted closely with Jose Mourinho, the manager at the time, and held him in high regard, praising his passion and ability to win titles. The former United star hopes to achieve the club's goals of winning the Champions League, the Premier League, and the FA Cup during his time at Real Madrid. He recently visited the Bernabéu to support Mourinho and expressed admiration for the coach. Valencia did not have the opportunity to catch up with Mourinho recently but hopes to do so in the future. When asked about his favorite players in the Ballon d'Or race, Valencia mentioned Mbappe, Lamine, Kvaratskhelia, Vinicius, and his personal favorite, Pacho, who he hopes can challenge Mbappe.",
  "summary": "Real Madrid, over the years, has evolved into a club of legends and has always ensured it keeps some of, if not most, of the sport’s biggest names at any given time.In that sense, most of the top pl...",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 4,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yahoo Sports",
        "title": "Real Madrid rejected two goalkeeper signings in the summer to back veteran star – report",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/real-madrid-rejected-two-goalkeeper-signings-in-the-summer-to-back",
        "published": "2026-10-13T06:40:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "BBC Sport",
        "title": "After 27 titles in 23 years at Real Madrid, Carvajal joins Getafe",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/after-27-titles-in-23-years-at-real-madrid-carvajal-joins-getafe",
        "published": "2026-10-13T09:21:36.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Daily Post Nigeria",
        "title": "Champions League: Real Madrid’s squad to face Roma confirmed [FULL LIST]",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/champions-league-real-madrids-squad-to-face-roma-confirmed-full-list",
        "published": "2026-10-13T14:48:07.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}