Arsenal Star Promised His Grandfather Before He Died About Joining This Club: Report

Real Madrid are reportedly chasing Arsenal star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang this summer transfer window.

If the deal goes through and Aubameyang moves from Emirates to Santiago Bernabeu ahead of the 2020-21 season, it would fulfill the promise he made to his grandfather before the latter had died.

In 2016, when Aubameyang was with Borrusia Dortmund, he disclosed about the vow he had made to his grandfather, while he also had mentioned that his signature acrobatic celebration was copied from a Real Madrid legend, Hugo Sanchez.

“Before he died two years ago I promised him that one day I would play for Real Madrid. My grandfather was from Avila, not far from Madrid. It’s what I said to him. I know it’s not easy but it’s something I keep in mind. I celebrate my goals with a cartwheel in honor of Hugo Sanchez. I’ve seen many videos of him on the internet and I’ve been following him since I was a boy,” the 30-year-old forward recently said in an interview.

Mexico’s Sanchez had a seven-year stint with the Bernabeu side between 1985 and 1992 where he scored an impressive 208 goals in as many as 283 appearances for the Spanish giants and also won five La Liga titles.

Aubameyang, who is the captain of the Gabone national soccer team, left Dortmund during January’s transfer window in 2018 and joined Arsenal in the Premier League. Aubameyang, who has played 97 matches for the London club across competitions, has found the back to the net 61 times as of now.

Earlier in the 2019-20 season, Arsenal’s captain Granit Xhaka was stripped of the captaincy following his angry reaction to getting booed by the Arsenal supporters during their encounter against Crystal Palace in the Premier League. The then-Gunners boss, Unai Emery had handed the captaincy armband to Aubameyang.

The star forward’s contract is set to expire in 2021. While Arsenal are desperate to retain him and not lose yet another talented player for free following the departure of Aaron Ramsey’s to Juventus, Aubameyang is being heavily linked to Real Madrid after club boss Zinedine Zidane has shown keen interest in the France-born player. The news reports have also stated that a $37m offer from the La Liga side would be enough to convince Arsenal to let go of their skipper.