Cristiano Ronaldo confirmed that Barcelona had approached him with potential transfer to Catalonia before he eventually decided to join Manchester United in 2003.
After appearing as a spaghetti sensation on the first team of Sporting CP during the 2002/03 campaign, Ronaldo attracted the interest of clubs across the continent. Deals with similar Juventus And Valencia rushed. United ultimately paid £ 12m for the then 18 years after a blinding display in the friendly opening of Jose Alvalade in Lisbon.
United has already had a long -standing relationship with Ronaldo and was finally accelerated by an existing agreement that existed for 2004. Barcelona was not willing to enter into his contract.
“Yes, it was when I played in Sporting and I had the opportunity to join various clubs, one of which was Barcelona,” Ronaldo said El Chiringuito in an exclusive interview.
“I remember being with a Barcelona person who wanted to sign me, but that didn’t happen. They may have wanted to bring me, but that would be next year. Then, a club like a club like Manchester United Entered and immediately signed me. You know how quickly everything goes in football. “
At that time, Barcelona had just signed Ronaldinho, beating Manchester United to sign the future Brazilian icon after David Beckham sold Real Madrid.
Portuguese sensation continued to join Real MadridBarcelona’s rival rivals, enhancing scary hostility that already existed between the two giants of Spanish, the multi -year challenges of Lionel Messi for the ‘Best Player in the World’ title.
“I loved playing at the Nou camp. They raised me, they offended me and I loved it,” Ronaldo insisted.
“I enjoyed scoring goals more at Camp Nou than at the Santiago Bernabeu. When you warm up and they are already whistling in you, that’s what I love. It’s the best part of football for me.”
This attitude is worn in Ronald’s record against Barcelona. The Madrid icon scored 14 goals in 17 games at Camp Nou – compared to only six in 17 games outside Catalonia.
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