Former West Ham United winger Julien Faubert has opened up on his surprise loan transfer to Real Madrid and the reception he got on his return from the Spanish capital in east London.
The Frenchman joined the Hammers from Bordeaux in the summer of 2007 for £4.3million but just over 18 months after Faubert’s arrival, where he had played just 32 times in all competitions after a stop start introduction to his West Ham career following injury, Faubert was the surprise transfer target of Spanish giants Real Madrid, just months before they broke the world transfer record twice in a matter of days to sign Kaka from AC Milan and Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United.
Faubert’s move went down as one of the most surprising transfer switches in football history, with the Frenchman only making two La Liga appearances for the Spanish giants prior to moving back to Upton Park.
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Speaking on the move itself, Faubert admits he did not expect or believe the calls were true until seeing multiple missed phone calls after a win over Fulham in the Premier League, but calls his short stay in the Spanish capital as an honour.
“I see my name, and my move to Real Madrid, mentioned a lot when it comes to some of the strangest transfers ever, but for me, it's not an insult,” Faubert told Ladbrokes Fanzone. “A club like Real Madrid has - pretty much - an endless list of choices, of options, of solutions to areas on the pitch. At the time, they wanted to sign Antonio Valencia, and it was said that I was their second choice. That's a proud moment for me, because I think I saw they had something like 10 or 15 names they were looking at.
“The story just came out of nowhere, to be honest. I remember we had a game in the league against Fulham, and I got a call from a number I didn't recognise. It was a French guy, who said he was a representative from Real Madrid, which I thought was strange in itself. I told him I didn't have time to speak to him, because I needed to focus on the game. I switched my phone off, we played the game, beat Fulham, and eventually I switch my phone back on.
“At this point, I had something like fifty text messages and 20 voicemails! My agent was desperately trying to get in contact with me, and by the time I spoke with him, people were already waiting for me at Heathrow Airport. My agent assured me it wasn't a joke, and that I needed to get over to meet with these people.
“At first, West Ham agreed to the loan move. They didn't know all of the details, but they were happy to let me go out for the rest of the season. But when they knew it was Real Madrid, things changed and - of course - they wanted some money! I think, in the end, Madrid ended up paying something like £1.5m for me, and I flew out to Madrid the next day.
“I didn't expect any of it to happen at all, but of course I was so happy to go and play for one of the biggest clubs in the world. I learned so many things out there; I might not have played as much as I wanted, but to play with some of the biggest names in the world was an honour.”
Upon his brief loan stint, Faubert would return to West Ham and spend three more seasons with the club before leaving permanently for Turkish side Elazigspor at the start of the 2012/13 season, having scored twice and 121 appearances for West Ham prior to his exit.
When Faubert came back to West Ham in the summer of 2009 and received plenty of banter from teammates Carlton Cole and Mark Noble, who were both quick to remind Faubert of his time at the Santiago Bernabeu.
For Cole, it was by asking Faubert how he had like to be greeted, while Noble joked he was a Real Madrid player when he got the ball in training.
“Of course, when I came back to West Ham, my teammates joked around with me about the whole thing,” Faubert added. “Carlton Cole was one of the main culprits; the first day I returned to training, he came over to me, offered his hand out and asked me how I'd like him to greet me; was I a sir now, or something else?! And then, often in training, if I made a quick burst down the wing, Mark Noble would say something like ‘wow, guys we've got a Real Madrid player in our team!’
“But those kind of jokes are exactly what I love about England. You join Madrid from a French team and return to your former club, I swear, your teammates would be jealous of you.
“But when I came back to West Ham, I just felt straight back at home, the dressing room was just as I remembered it, the atmosphere was great, and I was so happy to be with those guys again.
“I felt like I came back to the Premier League with something to prove, as well. Returning after that move to Madrid, and all of the attention it got, I was focused on making sure my performances were matching my own expectations. I think I made something like 35 appearances the following season, and did really well for the team.”
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