Middlesbrough winger Adama Traore has revealed he turned down Pep Guardiola and Bayern Munich for Aston Villa
The Spaniard joined the Midlands side back in 2015, and moved to the North-East this summer
MIDDLESBROUGH winger Adama Traore has settled into life at Teesside seamlessly, but he could have been playing his career in Germany rather than England.
When he left Spanish giants Barcelona back in 2015, the youngster made the switch to sign for Aston Villa, however, Bayern Munich were also eager to nab the exciting prospect.
Catalan-based newspaper 'Mundo Deportivo' today issued a full page feature on the 20-year-old after his impressive form with his new side.
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The feature details his move to the Midlands and revealed that the current La Liga champions inserted a first option buy-back clause, which they ultimately turned down this summer.
It also said that there was an 'anti-Madrid' clause, which meant that Villa were forbidden to sell Traore to their arch rivals.
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But the most interesting statement from the report is the fact that Pep Guardiola wanted to bring him to the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich.
Most players dream of playing for the biggest clubs in Europe, and as he was leaving one of them, he rejected the chance to join another, instead being lured by the first-team football promised by Tim Sherwood.
Last year in an interview with the Birmingham Mail, Traore acknowledged that the German club were keen to bring him in.
He said: "Bayern are a great club but it's complicated to play. I am grateful to Guardiola for showing his interest and I hope in the future I can learn from him.
"There were details that made me decide to go to Aston Villa.";
He was was part of the Villans squad that were relegated and finished last in the Premier League, with just three wins to their name.
In the same interview last year, Traore also revelaed that his business with Barcelona is not finished.
He said: "I'm going to return to Barca.
"I didn't speak with Luis Enrique. I only saw that he didn't count on me.
"If the opportunity arrives for me to go back, I will take advantage of it to the maximum."
Currently, Middlesbrough sit in 15th spot on 11 points, and Traore will be desperate to avoid relegation for a second consecutive season.
His boss Aitor Karanka isn't rushing the promising player to be a star for his side, as he has only started the Spanish youth international three times, however they have all came in the last three matches.