Olympique Lyon midfielder Houssem Aouar admits he had an offer from Nottingham Forest this summer.
Aouar says he was blocked from leaving OL.
He told L'Equipe: "I was close to Betis, Nottingham Forest and Benfica, clubs from different leagues and with different projects.
"I didn't get in the way but unfortunately Lyon didn't manage to reach an agreement with nobody.
"No problem, but I didn't close any doors. The club wanted to sell me, I wanted to leave, so we worked together to find a solution."
