Wesley Sneijder admits he was all set to sign for Valencia before Real Madrid's intervention in 2007.

Valencia had struck terms with Ajax over a fee for Sneijder - but then Real stepped in.

"I had to push that thing between Ajax and Real Madrid. I was 23 years old and there was a huge opportunity here," said Sneijder, who stated then Real director Predrag Mijatovic immediately came to the point when he visited Schiphol.

"He took out a sheet from his inside pocket. I can still see him making that gesture. He unfolded it and I immediately saw it: three million net per season. Contract for five seasons. At Ajax I got one million. Gross."

Sneijder would eventually leave Ajax for Real Madrid for a fee of €27m.