DAVID SILVA has revealed how he turned his back on a dream chance to join Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid to move to Manchester City.
The likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Mesut Ozil and Angel di Maria could not wait to put pen to paper at the Bernabeu over the last couple of years.
But when the Special One showed interest in making Silva a Galactico this summer, the Spaniard had other ideas.
He set his heart on moving to Eastlands and - despite a chaotic start to the season at City - five months on he has no regrets.
So instead of looking forward to El Classico in the Nou Camp on Monday, he is preparing for a slightly less glamorous trip to Stoke at the Britannia today.
But if Silva's choice was a surprise, he believes he will not be the last world star to make a similar decision in the years to come.
And he is already doing his bit by trying to persuade his old pal and one-time City target David Villa to join him in England.
The £26million star said: "There were options to stay in Spain when it was clear I would leave Valencia in the summer.
"I was aware of the interest from Madrid at the time, it's a huge club and they have a great coach now.
"It's true that a lot of Spanish and Portuguese players want to play for a club like Real. Its normally them or Barcelona.
"So it was nice to know there was interest. Of course, they were in the Champions League and that's a competition I'm used to playing in and want to play in again.
"But for me, I wanted to live through a new experience. I wanted to play outside of Spain and England was my choice.
"Also it was City who made the strongest move for me during the World Cup and that meant a lot to me. I was excited by what they told me.
"I knew Roberto Mancini had tried to sign me when he was at Inter. "That showed what belief he had in me. He really impressed me and I've enjoyed working for him. He's a really good young manager."
At times Silva - who hails from the Canary Islands - must have wondered what he has let himself in for, not least during the current cold snap.
Despite their current position just three points off the top, Mancini has had plenty to deal with during a troubled start to the campaign.
Silva just smiles at the mention of all the off-field problems the Italian has had to endure and insists things have gone better than he imagined.
He said: "There are no regrets at all. I know I made the right move and I've settled in a lot quicker than I expected.
"The experience I am having here up to now has been very good and I feel it will continue to get better.
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"Of course I miss the weather, it's so cold here. But, otherwise, it's been good, I have my family here, they come and go."
While the number of star names in Mancini's squad has caused trouble, Silva expects more to arrive in the not-too- distant future. And there is one in particular he would like to see pulling on the sky blue shirt with him.
He smiled: "David Villa. I just know he's a world-class striker. We have a lot of superstars already but there is always room for one more like him.
"If there was one more to arrive it would be brilliant to sign someone like him - a really huge signing.
"He scores a lot of goals, we had a great understanding from all those years together at Valencia - I rate him so highly.
"We've stayed in touch, we are often texting or talking on the phone. He likes it at Barcelona but I've been telling him how much I am enjoying life in England."
It is no surprise that City fans have taken Silva to their hearts as they have cherished their pint-sized playmakers.
They see a bit of Georgi Kinkladze, Ali Benarbia or Eyal Berkovic in their little Spanish wizard and expect great things from him.
Today he makes a first visit to the 'Land of the Giants' as Mancini's men prepare to face an in-form Stoke, who have won their last four matches.
He said: "We know all about Stoke and the size of their players. We have been warned - but in football it's not all about size.
"We will try and play it on the ground, play it quickly and see what they can do about it."
