"Losing with Madrid was like losing a World War"

Real Madrid is not going through the best of times and Zinedine Zidane has assured that he has the confidence of the club. Nobody in Madrid doubts him.

Woodgate, who knows well what it is like to play a match with the club, has spoke about what it meant to lose a match with Real Madrid in Jamie Carragher's podcast, 'Greatest Game'.

"At first it was a bit of a nightmare, the language, the injuries... but I was with extraordinary players. When you go to such a big club you can't even lose in training and losing a game was like losing a World War," he said.

On his transfer, which was about to be cut short, Woodgate recalled: "The transfer was done and I flew to Munich on a private plane to see a specialist who would test my thigh because it was injured at the time. I was going through the examination and the doctor told me that there was a problem with the MRIs, particularly in the back. The doctor was on the phone with Florentino Pérez and he finished and said: 'I told him that your back is a bit damaged and he said that they will sign you for four years instead of five'.

"Madrid has been following me since I played the Champions League with Leeds. One day, my agent called me and told me that Madrid was going to offer 20 million for me and I answered him: 'You always want to play for the best team in the world if you have ambition', he finished.