The Uruguayan played for Penarol at the time (Photos: Twitch / Getty)

Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde has revealed he almost moved to Arsenal, but the move never materialized.

The Uruguayan international has established himself as one of the best midfielders in world football, winning two La Liga titles and the Champions League since moving to the Spanish capital.

But things could have turned out very differently for the 25-year-old if he had made a different decision when he left Uruguayan club Peñarol in 2016.

Given the choice of clubs in Europe, Valverde opted for Real – the then Champions League winners – but has now revealed that Arsenal were also in the mix.

In an interview on Twitch, the midfielder was asked a series of quick questions, including whether there was any other club he would soon join, to which he immediately replied: “Arsenal.”

The Gunners’ interest was first piqued in 2015, when Arsène Wenger was still in charge of the club, and teams across Europe took notice of Valverde’s promise following a breakthrough season at Peñarol.

Uruguayan legend Diego Forlan had taken the youngster under his wing and is said to have informed Manchester United of Valverde’s promise, with Barcelona and Chelsea also keeping an eye on him.

Valverde has developed into one of the best midfielders in the world (Photo: Getty)

But it was Arsenal, who have such a rich history of developing young players, especially during the Wenger years, who came closest to signing him before Real intervened.

While Wenger may have left the club, the list of superstars he almost signed continues to grow with Valverde’s unveiling.

The Uruguayan joins a host of players who were moments away from a move to the Gunners but have decided to move – usually with great success – including the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Yaya Toure and even Lionel Messi.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic was another player Arsenal missed. Swede Piers Morgan recently told how a move to north London fell through after Wenger initially asked him to stand trial.

The former Barcelona and AC Milan striker explained: “I came into his office and we were talking and he said: ‘What do you want?'” He wanted to get to know me, feel me. Because I think he’s the type of person that just doesn’t buy the player, he wants to know what he’s buying, I guess. He was eventually given an Arsenal number 9 shirt and: “We’d like you to come and try it out for two weeks.”

“Everything was going well until he told you to come in and take a test.” I looked at him. Obviously he’s Wenger, I’m nobody at the moment. I said, “I don’t do tests,” and he said, “What do you mean?”

“I said, ‘I’m not taking exams, you either want me or you don’t want me, or why else am I here?’ I was, but it wasn’t about playing a game, it was about me. ‘No, but you have to come and take a test’ and then: ‘No, no, you don’t understand, I’m not taking a test.’ ‘That’s it, I’ve never been to Arsenal.’