Almunia reveals why he rejected England switch despite Spain never capping him

Manuel Almunia, Arsenal’s first-choice goalkeeper during the 2007/08 season, has explained why he ultimately dismissed the idea of switching international allegiance from Spain to England — fearing the backlash from supporters on both sides.

The 49-year-old retired shot-stopper was never capped by Spain despite being one of the Premier League’s more reliable keepers at the time. His misfortune was timing: Iker Casillas held an iron grip on the Spain number one shirt, with Victor Valdes and Pepe Reina competing for the remaining spots as the national side entered a historic run of two European Championships and a World Cup between 2008 and 2012.

Having joined Arsenal in 2004, Almunia became eligible to represent England after five years in the country — a prospect that briefly entered public conversation. England’s goalkeeping situation was genuinely unsettled at the time; the team had missed Euro 2008 entirely, and Rob Green and David James shared duties at the 2010 World Cup under Fabio Capello.

“I did an interview and the journalist asked me about the Spanish national team,” Almunia told The Athletic in 2019. “I said, ‘No, it’s not possible, but it’s possible I could try to play for England.’ So after that they all said, ‘OK, he might apply to play for England.’ Then the story was growing and growing and I couldn’t stop it.”

Despite the genuine opportunity, Almunia said his instinct quickly told him to walk away from the idea. “Part of me inside was thinking, ‘What the f*** are you saying? If you play for England, people in England will want to kill you. Then if you go to Spain in the summer, people in Spain will want to kill you too. What are you doing?’” he said. “I’m not the kind of person that wants these kind of problems. I never considered it seriously.”

Almunia made 175 appearances for Arsenal across seven seasons under Arsène Wenger before losing his place at the club in 2010. He had a brief spell at West Ham United in 2011 and later became a cult figure at Watford, where he played until his retirement in 2014.