Kepa: If Courtois had not been injured, I would have joined Bayern 

Real Madrid goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga has revealed that he was "close" to joining Bayern Munich during the summer transfer window and that Chelsea actually wanted to keep him. The move to Madrid happened, in Kepa’s own words as he spoke to Marca, "very fast". He even rejected Mauricio Pochettino's request for him to stay at Chelsea with the incentive of remaining the starter, despite the £25m capture of Spain international colleague Robert Sanchez. "It is true that, at Chelsea, Pochettino wanted me to stay and he told me that I was going to play, that he trusted me," Kepa explained. "But I thought that a change would be good for me. I wanted a change. "Thomas Tuchel called me. We were close to going to Munich. Due to circumstances such as the injury, unfortunately, of a teammate, the possibility arose [to go to Madrid]. In the end, Real Madrid is Real Madrid. When Real Madrid calls you, there are few things to think about."  Kepa had previously worked under Tuchel during the German’s spell at Stamford Bridge. Madrid has won four games in a row to begin the 2023/24 season, hoping to wrestle La Liga glory back from Barcelona. Meanwhile, Chelsea are languishing mid-table in the Premier League, winning only one of their opening four matches and keeping just a single clean sheet. About how he felt after playing at the Bernabeu, Kepa explained, "Amazing, really. When I was playing the Champions League with Chelsea in April, there were still some things to finish, with some advanced things."