Arjen Robben: Politics Forced Me Out Of Real Madrid

By Joshua Walters

Arjen Robben, a 10-year veteran at Bayern Munich has revealed that politics was the main reason why he left the Spanish giants Real Madrid in 2009.

Several reports in the domain had reported that the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo was what forced the former Chelsea player out of the team, but the Dutch forward has disclosed that there were more contributing factors. 

“It became difficult for me because of the change of president at Real,” Robben told Goal and SPOX.

“I actually felt very comfortable there and played very well, but when politics come into play and you do not get a real chance, you have to make a decision whether you want to keep fighting or to go and continue your career elsewhere.

“It was not just Ronaldo. Perez returned as the club’s president. He then bought Ronaldo, but also Kaka, [Karim] Benzema and Xabi Alonso.

“Real spent so much money and we were told that they needed to make a bit of money back on outgoing transfers.

“For me it was a shame, because I had a very good relationship with the former coach Manuel Pellegrini. In addition, I had perhaps the best pre-season of my career.”

Robben having joined the German champions from Real Madrid brought his services for the Bavarians to an end this season as he scored four goals in twelve Budesliga games while his four Champions League appearances yielded two goals.

Bayern Munich, who retained the Bundesliga title this season having won it twenty-seven times signed Robben for a fee of around €25 million and has played 201 league games scoring 99 goals since his arrival.