Arsenal star was wanted by Real Madrid – I followed him on holiday every year to block move

The Arsenal icon was so treasured in north London that one club figure went to extreme lengths to keep him from joining Real Madrid

Former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein once revealed how he followed Patrick Vieira on his holidays to keep him at the club. Vieira was the subject of repeat interest from Real Madrid, which led Dein to travel across the globe just to ensure he stayed in north London.

Vieira, 50, was consistently linked with Los Blancos during the Galacticos period of the early 2000s. A move was even thought to be close in 2004 when Vieira missed pre-season training in Austria as then Real-sporting director Emilio Butragueno talked up the switch.

However, Gunners fans perhaps have Dein to thank for his role in keeping the Frenchman tied down in north London. Arsene Wenger's old colleague went far out of his way just to guarantee he always had Arsenal's captain under his watchful eye in case of any developments.

"Their president, Florentino Perez, used to say to me, you know, we like Patrick Vieira," he said on the High Performance podcast earlier this year. "What’s your price?

"I said there isn’t a price if he’s not selling. But obviously I knew that they were going to try and tap him up. So every year at the end of the season I said, Are you okay Patrick?'

"I said, 'Where you going on holiday?' He said Guadeloupe or Martinique. I said I’ll be there and I did. Thanks to Patrick, I had some very nice holidays, because I had to follow him to make sure that he came back."

In the long list of sacrifices a vice-chairman might make to keep a player, jetting off to some of the most exotic locations on the planet is fairly low down. However, it displays a certain level of dedication to the player and demonstrates their importance to one's club.

And it worked as far as Arsenal were concerned in keeping the player from joining Real. However, Vieira did end up leaving in the summer of 2005 when the Gunners accepted Juventus' £13.75million offer for his signature.

The former midfield enforcer has called the decision to not join Real Madrid in 2004 one of the great regrets from his career. Speaking in 2010, he said: "It was complicated at Madrid. I was suspicious. The lack of recognition for [Claude] Makelele over there scared me. I was scared it would happen to me

"But I should have gone there. Today I don't regret the career that I have had but if I could have changed one thing, it would be that. To go to Madrid."

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Vieira departed as one of the most decorated imports in Arsenal's history. He won three Premier League titles in north London (one as captain), along with four FA Cups.

Arguably his greatest achievement under Wenger was steering the club through its 'Invincibles' campaign in 2003/04. Arsenal became the only Premier League team to go undefeated across an entire season, perhaps second only to his World Cup win with France in 1998.

Dein was vice-chairman at Arsenal for 24 years and departed the club not long after Vieira in 2007. However, fans are given a sense of the unselfish methods he used behind the scenes to ensure the Gunners were as competitive as possible throughout his tenure.