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Real Madrid legend Cristiano Ronaldo offered to Barcelona before leaving Manchester United to go to Los Blancos in 2009, according to sensational reports from Spain.
The Juventus and Portugal superstar left the Red Devils in a record move of £ 80 million after winning three Premier League titles, the Champions League and a host of other honors with Sir Alex Ferguson’s team.
He joined the ranks at the Santiago Bernabéu alongside Liverpool star Xabi Alonso and Ballon d’Or winner Kaká, as Los Blancos sought to bounce back after Pep Guardiola’s phenomenal debut season with Barcelona.
However, things could have turned out so differently for the Sporting academy product if Ferguson had gotten away with it.
(Image: Action Images)
The legendary United manager was reluctant to lose the winger against Real Madrid after saying in 2008 that a “virus” would not sell the club, and he realized that Barça was the only other club that could pay for his services.
And according to Spanish media AS, Ferguson contacted the Catalan club to urge them to bid for Ronaldo only to discover that he was already determined to move to Real.
If Ronaldo had not been on the cusp of his dream move to Los Blancos, a move to Barcelona could have brought an era of success never before seen in European football.
(Image: AFP / Getty Images)
After winning the six trophies they competed for in the 2008-09 season, Guardiola’s team could have begun dominating Europe for countless years if Ronaldo had joined Lionel Messi in attack.
In the end, Barcelona’s biggest move from the 2009 summer transfer window was the notorious exchange agreement with Inter Milan in which Samuel Eto’o left and Zlatan Ibrahimovic arrived at the Camp Nou
Meanwhile, Ronaldo scored 33 goals in all competitions in the 2009-10 campaign, but was unable to topple Barça at the top of the League until the 2011-12 season.
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