Massimiliano Allegri turned down the chance to manage Real Madrid because he had also turned down the chance to manage Arsenal and Chelsea.

Max Allegri decided to take a year out of the game when he left Juventus in 2019 with ‘family reasons’ given by way of explanation.

Arsenal had been interested in signing the Italian to replace Arsene Wenger but, when he wouldn’t leave Juventus, the club turned to Unai Emery.

Less than two years later, they were in the hunt again and, again, turned to Allegri who was still without a club.

Allegri, however, was a wanted man with Chelsea also looking to hire his services before they, like Arsenal, went for the cheaper, more inexperienced option of hiring a former player.

Speaking to Radio Kiss Kiss, Giovanni Galeone, friend of Allegri and former coach, explained a bit more about what happened.

“Why has he not coached for a few years?” Galeone said. “The reason is simple: Because he had to turn down offers from some big clubs because of family reasons. Max has said no to Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, Arsenal, and Real Madrid.”

“He turned down Real because he had already turned down some other clubs,” Galeone said. “I said to him: ‘but how can you turn down such a big club?’ Max’s reason surprised me: ‘I am not a clown. If I said no to a clown, I can’t just turn around and ten days later accept an offer from another club.’ He is an honest man, a gentleman, and a professional.”

Allegri is said to be ready to step back into management and we can all hope that it is not at Tottenham when they eventually get around to sacking Jose Mourinho.