Aurelien Tchouameni has revealed that Liverpool were the first club to make an approach for him but that when Real Madrid declared an interest there was no doubt in his mind as to where he would go.
The France star joined the Spanish giants from Monaco this summer for a reported £70m with the midfielder having hit the ground running at Real Madrid.
Despite Liverpool and Paris Saint Germain also chasing him, Tchouameni confirmed in an interview with Le Parisien that his objective was Real Madrid, a view he clarified with his agent.
'The first club that showed interest in me was Liverpool, we had a few discussions. Then Real Madrid arrived and in my head, it was very clear: Real Madrid or no one,' Tchouameni said.
'I told my agent that as long as there is interest from Real Madrid, we have to do everything to go there.'
Meanwhile, with Liverpool having attempted to revamp their midfield with the young Frenchman, PSG caught wind of such and attempted to make a move for the player.
However, doubling down on his Real Madrid wish, Tchouameni said that his decision had already been made by the time PSG made their move.
'When PSG approached me, my choice to join Madrid was already made. I didn’t hesitate for a second.
'Real Madrid is the biggest club in the world. If you want to accomplish great things and mark history in football, there is no better place to be,' he said.
Tchouameni admitted to being flattered by the interest from PSG.
Meanwhile, with N'Golo Kante and Paul Pogba both missing for France after sustaining injuries, Tchouameni is set to play a key role as Didier Deschamps' side bid to become the first country since Brazil in 1958 and 1962 to defend their World Cup crown.
France begin their defence on Tuesday evening against Australia, who they also happened to play four years ago in Russia.
Rocked by injuries to forwards Christopher Nkunku and Karim Benzema on the eve of the tournament, Deschamps said that there was 'no anxiety' in the squad and that they were ready.
'There's no apprehension. We have done everything possible,' said Deschamps.
'There's no anxiety, everyone is calm and there are cool heads.'
Deschamps decided not to call up a replacement for Benzema, choosing instead to press on with the players already at his disposal.
'I've got 25 players in my squad. I'm convinced I have the efficient number of players to be able to deal with the challenges we face,' said Deschamps about his decision.
'Before [in previous tournaments] we had 22, 23. Now it is 26 and we are at 25. There are lots of possibilities, lots of players on the bench and, therefore, I believe we have everything we need.'
