Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas has disclosed how Real Madrid star Karim Benzema came close to joining Premier League giants Manchester United when he left the French Ligue 1.
According to his recent interview as monitored by Squawka, the Lyon supremo said that Karim Benzema almost joined Manchester United who offered more money than Real Madrid for his services in 2009.
Jean-Michel Aulas went on to say that Karim Benzema was focused on joining Real Madrid ahead of Manchester United despite the fact that the English club offered more money.
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Manchester United were hoping to sign Karim Benzema as a replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo who had gone to Real Madrid that summer in a then world-record fee of £80m.
The Lyon president said that he had a conversation with Karim Benzema where he pointed out that Real Madrid is his dream move and that only the transfer to the Spanish club will suffice for him.
Karim Benzema came through the ranks at Lyon before netting 66 goals for the first team in around 150 appearances.
He has been a key player for Real Madrid since his transfer over a decade ago and has scored over 200 goals within that period.
Karim Benzema has won four Champions League titles at Real Madrid.
