Cristiano Ronaldo revealed that he was close to joining Barcelona from Sporting Lisboa.© AFP
Cristiano Ronaldo put Real Madrid’s target as no one else. The five -time Ballon D’Or winner joined the meringues in 2009 after seven seasons at Manchester United. He spent the following seasons in the Spanish capital, winning numerous titles, including 2 LaLiga trophies and four Champions League. He left the club as its top scorer of all time with 451 attacks in 438 competitive appearances, joining the Italian giants Juventus in the summer of 2018. During those nine seasons in Madrid, the battles of El Classico de Ronaldo with Lionel Messi of Barcelona shaped a new era of football football.
However, Ronaldo has now made an impressive revelation that he was close to joining Barcelona from Sporting Lisboa, before an eventual moving in the red half of Manchester in 2003.
In statements to the journalist Edu Aguirre about the Gugones beach bar, Ronaldo revealed that he was initially explored by Barcelona, before he finally decided to join Manchester United of Sir Alex Ferguson.
“Yes, it was when I played in Sporting Lisbon and I had the opportunity to join several clubs, one of which was Barcelona,” Ronaldo told Aguirre, who is a close friend of the Portuguese icon.
“I remember being with a person from Barcelona who wanted to sign myself, but it didn’t happen. Maybe they wanted to bring me, but it would have been for the following year. Then, a club like (Manchester United) came along and signed immediately.
Given the bitter rivalry of Real Madrid with Barcelona, Ronaldo joining the Catalan giants seems unimaginable. If I had chosen a different race race, I could have played next to Messi in Blaugrana’s colors.
For the not versed, Ronaldo was also approached by the then Arsenal manager, Orsene Wenger, who admitted not being able to sign the captain of Portugal was the greatest repentance of his managerial career.
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