Arshavin Was Offered To Madrid

As Real Madrid prepare for their first home game of the season tonight news has emerged that the club were offered Russian playmaker Andrei Arshavin this summer.

Summer is rarely a quiet time at Real Madrid and this one proved to be no exception. The club was rarely out of the headlines as it doggedly pursued the signing of Manchester United superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.

However, now that the transfer window is closed and the rumours are over many pundits have said that Los Blancos wasted too much time on Ronaldo and other fanciful purchases. Indeed, with the season now underway Rafael Van Der Vaart is the only new acquisition to the squad, although in a report today it turns out that that could have been very different.

It is thought that Real Madrid were actually offered Zenit St Petersburg playmaker Andrei Arshavin but declined the transfer, presumably as they were too busy targeting other players. The news will anger bitter rivals Barcelona, who were keen to sign the Russian this summer but could not broker a deal with Zenit.

Also rumoured to be interested in the twenty seven year old were Tottenham Hotspur - who failed to negotiate a price with Zenit - as well as Inter Milan and Manchester City, although Real Madrid were the only ones thought to have been offered the player.

Arshavin made a name for himself over the past year, firstly with Zenit as they won the UEFA Cup, and then with Russia as they reached the semi-finals of the European Championships.

During his time in Russia the playmaker has made 217 appearances for Zenit and at the age of 27 it was thought that this summer would be the ideal time for him to move to a larger club.