Jese Rodriguez was the hero of Real Madrid’s last game of 2013, as he scored the goal that gave Los Blancos a 2-3 win over Valencia.
The 20-years-old is considered the biggest pearl of Real’s cantera, and he’s seen as a future Los Merengues star. However, things could have been very different, since many Spanish clubs fought to sign him when he was 12 years old and was playing for Huracan, in the Canary Islands.
“It wasn’t easy for Real Madrid, because he had offers from Espanyol, Mallorca… Even from Barcelona. They proposed him to travel to Barcelona and visit La Masia, but he was convinced he wanted to come to Madrid,” Real’s scout Sixto Alonso told Marca.
Los Blancos made an important bid for the striker, since they had fallen for him since the first moment: “We saw him playing at 12 years old. He had good conditions. We tested him and brought him to a tournament.”
However, Barca’s offer wasn’t the only obstacle in Madrid’s way. “The biggest problem was bringing a 12-year-old kid from the Canary Islands to Madrid. We spoke with his parents, we convinced them we were not cheating them and sign a contract to bring him to Madrid the year after.”
