Man United star Daley Blind has revealed that he rejected the chance to join Arsenal as a schoolboy, despite an “incredible” offer.
Blind joined United in a move worth £14.4m last year, with the versatile Dutch international impressing in his first season in the Premier League.
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However, the 25-year-old has revealed that he could have moved to England much sooner in his career, but he opted to stay with Ajax for less money instead.
“I had the chance to move to London at a young age,” Blind told the Daily Mirror. “I was in the Ajax academy and one day I came home from school. My mum and dad said to me: ‘Arsenal have called today. They want you.’
“They also offered me an incredible contract, especially for a boy of my age. Ajax offered me a contract too at the same time. The money was nowhere near what I could earn at Arsenal. My dad left it up to me and I decided to stay at Ajax.”
Blind went on to win the Eredivisie four times with the Dutch giants, and revealed that it was his dream to emulate his father, Danny, in captaining Ajax and winning trophies with the club before he left.
The Dutch ace revealed that he was lucky enough to be looked after at home so he didn’t need the big money move so early in his career, and in turn that allowed him to fulfil his ambitions in his homeland first.
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