‘The Agent One’ reveals Arsenal’s stadium move scuppered a deal for for the then 18 year old.
A new biography of Jorge Mendes, Cristiano Ronaldo’s agent, claims that the player only joined Manchester United because Arsenal said they couldn’t afford the deal.
Ronaldo moved to Old Trafford from Sporting Lisbon for £12.2 million in 2003, but there’s long been rumours that Arsenal had first option on the future three-time Ballon d’Or winner.
A new biography of superagent Mendes, which will be published later this year in English, claims that Ronaldo spent a week on trial at the Gunners, but the club’s proposed, expensive move from Highbury to the Emirates Stadium prevent them from completing the transfer.
‘There was a moment in which I really thought he was going to Arsenal,’ Mendes said. ‘David Dein (the then Arsenal vice-chairman) is a spectacular person but, with the construction of their stadium, they were left with very little money and it wasn’t possible’.
United then completed the deal and Ronaldo went on to make 292 appearances, scoring 118 goals and won three Premier League titles, a Champions League and the Ballon d’Or, before joining Real Madrid in 2009 for £80 million.
Arsenal Wenger has said that missing out on the Portuguese forward is the biggest regret of his career.
The claim that Arsenal couldn’t afford Ronaldo seems a little odd considering the club signed Jose Antonio Reyes in January 2004. The Gunners paid £10.5 million for the Spaniard 5 months after United paid slightly more for Ronaldo.
Hat-tip to the Telegraph.
