Barcelona supremo: Real Madrid wanted Puyol

Barcelona president Joan Laporta has revealed Carlos Puyol came close to signing for Real Madrid over the summer.

After Euro2004 Puyol was the subject of an enquiry from Real, but rejected the prospect of joining Barca's fiercest rivals.

Laporta said: "Real Madrid would have loved to have signed Puyol. But luckily, he chose to extend his contract with Barcelona."

The Barca supremo also revealed: "We would have loved to have enjoyed the play of Zinedine Zidane at Barcelona. We could have signed him in 1996, when he was with Bordeaux. But it wasn't to be."