Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has revealed he was close to joining Premier League strugglers Newcastle before opting for Borussia Dortmund.
The Gabon international is now one of the most sought-after strikers in world football having scored an incredible 21 goals in 21 appearances in the Bundesliga this season.
He has been linked with a big money move to a host of top clubs across Europe including Chelsea , Manchester United, Real Madrid and Barcelona
However, it could have been so different for Aubameyang if he had chosen to join Newcastle back in 2013 rather than Dortmund.
The 26-year-old admitted that the Magpies had offered him more wages than the German club but his Father persuaded him to take the opportunity to work with then manager, Jurgen Klopp.
“I received an offer from Qatar of €10m per year. If I accepted, my family would be set up for life,” Aubameyang told French magazine L’Equipe.
“We chose to stay at Saint-Etienne, where I got €70,000 per month, knowing that, given my qualities, I could earn money tomorrow.
“The following season, Saint-Etienne wanted to send me to Newcastle.
“We opted for Dortmund, finalist in the Champions League, because my father studied Klopp's game, even though the pay was lower.”
It proved to be a very good decision for Aubameyang as he has 50 Bundesliga goals in 86 matches during his two-and-a-half seasons at the Westfalenstadion.
He is now rated at £70 million but was signed by Klopp for £9.75 million just three years ago.
Only Robert Lewandowski has scored more league goals than the Dortmund striker this campaign while he trails Barcelona’s Luis Suarez by just four for Europe’s leading goalscorer.
Newcasle must be ruing the fact they didn’t do more in an attempt to secure the services of the striker.
The Magpies are currently in the relegation zone and are crying out for a prolific scorer as the side has only scored 27 goals in 26 Premier League matches - just six more than Aubameyang himself having played five more matches.
With various clubs linked now linked with the striker after his incredible season, Aubameyang declared that he would only consider a move to Spanish club Real Madrid if he was to leave Dortmund.
"My childhood dream? To play at Real Madrid," he revealed.
"In 2014, before he died, I promised my grandfather who was from Avila, 110 kilometers from Madrid, that I would play there. It will be complicated, but it sits in a corner of my head.
"When I was a kid, I watched Hugo Sanchez videos. The backflip I sometimes do when I score is actually an homage to him,” he concluded.
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