Real Madrid signed Aurelien Tchouameni from Monaco during the summer transfer window, for a fee of around £85m.

Former Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas played with Tchouameni at Monaco, and he has revealed that he told Barcelona to sign up the young Frenchman.

Fabregas hailed Tchouameni as a perfect player and believes he’d have been a suitable long-term replacement for Sergio Busquets.

Fabregas said: “I spoke to Barça because they were looking for a replacement for Busquets, but they were short of money.

“I told them about Aurélien. They wanted to prepare for the succession of Sergio Busquets and to me, he was the perfect player.”

Fabregas also added: “Aurélien has no limits, I quickly realised he was not a player like the others.

“The first time I saw him was against Bordeaux with Monaco. I was on the bench and I was impressed with his performance. They beat us and I remember asking one of our assistants: ‘but who is this midfielder?'”