Gunners coach Arsene Wenger admitted that the winger did visit Arsenal training ground and also had his name printed on an Arsenal shirt, yet he opted to join Manchester United.
Gunners boss reveals how close his side came to signing Cristiano Ronaldo in 2003
LONDON: Only a few days after Cristiano Ronaldo let out he was about to sign for Arsenal before joining rivals Manchester United, Gunners coach Arsene Wenger
admitted that the winger did visit Arsenal training ground and also had his name printed on an Arsenal shirt, yet he opted to join Manchester United.
The Ballon d’Or winner revealed earlier this week how close he had come to joining Arsenal before signing for the Red Devils for £12 million in 2003, and now Wenger has
given his side of the story.
“I had Ronaldo at the training ground, I showed him around and I gave him a shirt,” revealed Wenger was quoted saying in the British media, “It has got his name on the back.”
Wenger explained how his side had missed out on signing the then teenage prodigy. “What killed the deal was that United came back from the USA and played against Sporting Lisbon,” said the Gunners’ boss. Ronaldo was man of the match then.
“They had a partnership agreement with Lisbon and in that partnership they played them after coming back from the States. There was also Carlos Quieroz. He knew Ronaldo well and since then, United have signed Anderson and Nani from Portugal because of Quieroz. It’s like I can sign from France because I know them well.”
Wenger went on to reveal that Arsenal were planning to sign Ronaldo for a
fraction of the fee that United ended up paying.
Despite his obvious disappointment at missing out on Ronaldo, Wenger admitted that his potential was yet to be seen. “I saw that Ronaldo was an exceptional talent but we could not predict that he would become the player he is,” he said.
“What we did not see in him at that time was his capability to score goals. He was something special but he did not score goals,” Wenger went on to add.
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