Arsenal fans have been left wondering what might have been afterReal Madrid starCristiano Ronaldo verified Arsene Wenger's claim that the three time Ballon d'Or winnercould have joined the Gunnersrather thanManchester United, in an interview withMarca.
Ronaldo left his native Portugal for the Premier League andManchester United in 2003, for a fee of around £12m making him (at the time)the most expensive teenager in English football history.
It has been some week for Cristiano Ronaldo
💪👌💥🎉 pic.twitter.com/KniHGvnloR
However, in what ranks asone of modern football's great sliding doors scenarios,the Red Devils were not the only ones pursuingthe young winger at the time, andArsenal came close to landing the future superstar 13 years ago.
In 2014,Wengerspoke of his misfortuneat missing out on Ronaldo's signature, calling it the ˜biggest regret' of his career.
Famously, however, after Sporting CP comfortably defeated Sir Alex Ferguson's United in a pre-season friendly, the Scottish manager was attracted to the flamboyant style of one his side's conquerors in particular and made the cocky youngster his number one transfer priority.
Speaking to Marca, the 31-year-oldRonaldo, who recently put pen to paper on new contracts with both Real Madrid and Nike,revealed that there were indeed others vying for his attention.
Imagine if they were still there:
Ronaldo @ Man U
Suarez @ Liverpool
Bale @ spurs
Robben @ Chelsea
Bendtner @ arsenal 🤔
"Yes, it was not planned that United would be my team. Other clubs like Arsenal, Valencia, and Inter had enquired about me but we played against United and the rest is history."
Ronaldo won three Premier League titles, a Champions League and the FA Cup during a glittering six years at Old Trafford.