32-year-old winger Arjen Robben recalled the year 2009 when he unexpectedly had to leave the Madrid "Real" club and move to Germany.
The Dutch national team star joined the "Real" club in 2007 and played successfully until 2009. However, when Florentino Perez returned to the presidency, he did not see a future with the Dutchman - new signings poured in for impressive amounts during the summer.
A. Robben says that in the summer of 2009, he never even thought that he would be forced to leave "Real." The Dutchman also understood that moving to Munich's "Bayern" would be a step back in his career, but in the Bavarian team, the winger established himself and states that the decision was definitely not a bad one.
"It was a very strange summer. When Florentino Perez returned to the presidency of the club, new players were signed for very large amounts. That included Ronaldo, Benzema, Kaka, and Xabi Alonso.
We were told that the club could make a bit of money from my sale, but I didn't want to leave the team. That summer I probably had the best preseason preparation in my career, but when I didn't get the opportunity, I had to make the decision to leave.
"Bayern" negotiated with me, but making the decision was very difficult. "Bayern," unlike now, was not yet in the football elite at that time, so for me, it was a step back. It was the most difficult decision of my career.
Finally, I arrived at "Bayern" and Louis van Gaal immediately pointed out that I would be an important part of the team. Now I am a true man of "Bayern" - this is my eighth season in this team. I became a part of this club," said A. Robben.
In 2009, "Real" sold A. Robben to Bayern for 25 million euros.
