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Saliba reveals why he turned down Real Madrid transfer to sign new Arsenal contract
Suraj Radia
- Updated: 14 Dec 2025 18:30 GMT
- 4 min read
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William Saliba has opened up over signing a new long-term contract at Arsenal, having been strongly pursued by Real Madrid prior to his renewal.
Saliba has established himself as one of the world’s best defenders since breaking into Arsenal’s team three years ago and the Frenchman’s performances saw Real Madrid reportedly identify him as the future of their defence.
The 24-year-old’s previous deal was set to expire in 2027 and Real had been hoping they could convince Saliba to run down his contract and join them on a free transfer, however the Arsenal star insisted it was an ‘easy’ decision to extend his stay at the Emirates.
“Because everything was complete for me,” Saliba told Arsenal’s website when asked why he chose to renew his deal. “We have a good team, we have a good coach, we have good staff. And I'm sure that the future here will be very good, so there was no hesitation to extend my contract with Arsenal.
“I spoke with my agent and with the coach as well, but it was more on me than anyone else. I had to think by myself and to be honest it was easy because I knew that I wanted to stay here and achieve great things. So for me it was an easy decision.
“Of course it can be a bit of a headache when you still haven't signed your extension and people are talking, so when you sign, afterwards you are much more chilled, you can be more focused on your football.”
Saliba admits ‘doubts’ over Arsenal career after loan spells
Despite joining Arsenal in 2019 from Saint-Etienne, Saliba did not make an appearance for the club until 2022, having been loaned out back to Ligue 1 for three seasons in a row.
Saliba admitted there were some fears that he would never achieve his dream of playing for Arsenal, saying: “Yeah, of course. I had some doubts because when you go on loan two or three times, you think maybe it's not here that I will play.
“But it's like this, in football you have some doubts sometimes, but you have to make sure you forget your doubts and you move forward, and that’s what I did.”
“It was a bit hard because I arrived from France, then went back on loan, then six months after I came back here, I went back to France again,” he added.
"Six months there, then I changed club, then I came back here. So it was difficult. I was living in a hotel when I came here at first, then I found a house but went back to France, so when I came back after that I wanted to settle down quickly. Since I’ve been back from my loans I’ve been in the same place, so it’s all good now, I’m very happy.”
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