Middlesbrough winger Adama Traore has sensationally revealed he turned down Pep Guardiola’s offer to join Bayern Munich to sign for Aston Villa in 2015.
Traore, 19, who joined Middlesbrough for £7m in the summer, came through Barcelona’s academy before moving to England at the start of last season.
The Spanish teenager struggled to stay fit during his 12-month stint at Villa but has made a much brighter impact at Middlesbrough, particularly in recent weeks.
However, Traore has revealed that Guardiola tried to bring the powerful winger to Bayern when he left Spain, only to turn down the offer to join Villa.
“Bayern are a great club but it’s complicated to play,” Traore told Mundo Deportivo, via The Sun. “I am grateful to Guardiola for showing his interest and I hope in the future I can learn from him.
‘There were details that made me decide to go to Aston Villa. I’m going to return to Barca. I didn’t speak with Luis Enrique. I only saw that he didn’t count on me. If the opportunity arrives for me to go back, I will take advantage of it to the maximum.”
Interestingly, Barcelona included a clause in the deal that brought him to Villa for £7m, which prevented the now Championship side from selling the talented winger to their fiercest rivals Real Madrid.
Of players to have made at least five appearances in the Premier League since the start of last season, Traore has required the fewest minutes per successful dribble (1 every 9.6 minutes).
For more stats on Adama Traore, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
