Inter Milan coach Antonio Conte admits he'd held past talks with Champions League opponents Real Madrid.
Inter meet Real in their group game on Tuesday.
“Surely there were a couple of moments in which I was very close to coaching Real Madrid," Conte said.
“However, the season had already begun, it would have been difficult to take over, a schedule had already been made by the club and in a very sincere way I preferred to postpone."
“Right now I'm really focused on Inter, I started a project here with a very strong ownership and I'm happy. We're creating something important.
“It is true that in the past, there was an opportunity to become the coach of Real Madrid, but perhaps the times were not ripe. I want to continue the project here."
