Kolkata: Portugal legend Cristiano Ronaldo has revealed that he was close to join Barcelona before his legendary move to Manchester United.
Ronaldo made his mark after joining Manchester United in 2003. However, before that, when he was playing at Sporting United, Barcelona tried to sign him. But, 1 year after, Manchester United signed him and that changed his life completely, turned him into one of the greatest Footballers.
During a recent interview with Edu Aguirre, the Al-Nassr forward disclosed that the Catalan giants attempted to secure his services a year before he was snapped up by United. He said (via Fabrizio Romano on X):
“I could have played for Barca before Manchester United. I was at Sporting, they tried to sign me. They wanted me but one year after…then Manchester United appeared.”
Ronaldo joined Manchester United as an 18-year-old from boyhood club Sporting CP back in 2003. The Portuguese legend caught the attention of former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson after impressing during a friendly against the Premier League giants.
The Red Devils shelled out a reported £12 million – a then-Premier League record fee for a teenager – to bring Ronaldo to Old Trafford, making him the first Portuguese player to sign for the club.
He spent 6 seasons at Old Trafford, winning multiple trophies and the 1st of his 5 Ballon d’Or awards before leaving for Real Madrid in 2009. Ronaldo returned to Manchester United in 2021 for a 2nd spell but left the club on controversial note 1 year later.
In 346 games across 2 stints for the Red Devils, Ronaldo scored 145 goals and provided 64 assists.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta also revealed previously that they had the chance to add the Portuguese legend in their lineup back in 2003, however, they lost the chance.
“We (Barcelona) had signed Ronaldinho, Marquez and Quaresma. We were in the process of rebuilding everything that was the club. At that time I was at Sporting Lisbon, before signing for ManU, talking to his agent who wanted to sell us Deco. We said we couldn’t because we couldn’t stretch our arm more than our sleeve, but he told us he had another very good boy. It was Ronaldo. He had been agreed for 19 with United, but he offered him to us for 17,” said Laporta.
Union of Ronaldo and Lionel Messi along with Ronaldinho, Neymar, Suarez could have been treat to watch for Football lovers.
