Cristiano Ronaldo could have joined Real Madrid’s arch-rivals FC Barcelona when he was leaving his boyhood club Sporting Lisbon in 2003.
Before joining Real Madrid in 2009 and scoring 450 goals with the club nine years later, Ronaldo could have wore the outfit of Barça who was one of his suitors in 2003.
During an interview with TVI, the five-time ballon d’or winner revealed how things went before he joined Manchester United.
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“Some say I decided to leave [Sporting] after the game against United. But this is not true”, Ronaldo said.
“The transfer was not completed, although there was a verbal agreement. I had offers from other clubs.
“Valencia… everyone knows that. I spoke with Arsene Wenger to go to Arsenal. Lots of clubs: Barcelona, Madrid, Inter…
Jorge Mendes, his agent, was instrumental in this period when he was spoiled for choice.
“He knows things better than I do. Everything was made public, the agents talked about it. But, of course, after the game against United, which had already shown interest, only increased it.
“What they did was quickly come to an agreement to complete everything as quickly as possible. I didn’t expect to leave this season, ”admitted Cristiano Ronaldo.