Saul Niguez claims it would be “impossible” for him to leave Atletico Madrid for Real, while he never gave much thought to interest from Barcelona in the recent past.
It has been suggested that the star on the books at Wanda Metropolitano could cross the divide in the Spanish capital at some stage and make his way to the Santiago Bernabeu.
Real are forever in the market for the best players on the planet and are not afraid to look for that on their own doorstep.
Saul, though, has informed the Blancos that there is no chance of him ever gracing their books, with the 23-year-old fully committed to the Atletico cause.
He told Cadena Ser: “Joining Real Madrid would for me be unthinkable…it would be very, very difficult, almost impossible.”
There is no need for a highly-rated midfielder to be weighing up his future options any time soon.
Saul signed a nine-year contract with Atletico back in the summer of 2017, with that deal set to take him through to 2026.
The Spain international is delighted with that long-term agreement, adding: “I do not know what is going to happen, I have a contract until 2026. I signed it knowing what there is here and I am very happy.”
Saul penned those terms after seeing Real, Manchester United and Barcelona linked with big-money moves to secure his signature.
He claims to have paid little attention to that speculation, with nobody from Camp Nou having made their interest known to him.
“They did not call me personally,” said Saul.
“There was a time when it might have been close, but before I got an offer Atletico put a renewal to me and I said ‘okay’.
“I never negotiated with anybody else.”