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Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are two of the best footballers of all time.
The pair have rewritten the historical past books in the course of the course of their glittering careers, scoring objectives at an astonishing fee and successful 11 Ballon d’Or awards between them.
Their sporting rivalry has outlined a era, a lot in order that just about each different participant – previous or current – has been requested to select their favorite of the 2 world icons.
Nonetheless, all of it might have been so completely different, as a result of Barcelona had the possibility to make Ronaldo and Messi teammates again in 2003.
Had they finished so, the footballing world within the current day would virtually actually look very completely different.
So why did Barca pull out of the deal, particularly once they have been quoted a switch charge for Ronaldo that was €2m lower than what Manchester United ended up paying?
Due to Ronaldinho. The Blaugrana believed they did not want so as to add one other winger to their squad as a result of impending arrival of the Brazilian from Paris Saint-Germain.
That is in keeping with former Barca president, Joan Laporta, the person who’s at the moment the favorite to be re-elected throughout this month’s presidential election.
“We have been about to signal Ronaldinho and Rafa Marquez,” Laporta mentioned in a chat with Twitter account, Iniestazo, per Marca.
“Marquez’s folks proposed Cristiano Ronaldo to us. He was at Sporting Clube on the time. Certainly one of his brokers mentioned that that they had a participant who that they had bought to [Manchester] United for 19 million, however they’d promote him to us for 17 million.
“However we had already invested in Ronaldinho on the time. Cristiano performed extra out extensive than within the centre. We thought we have been lined, so we rejected him and I do not remorse it.”
Wow. Ronaldo and Messi in the identical workforce? The stuff of hypothetical desires.
Nonetheless, had Ronaldo been signed similtaneously Ronaldinho, Messi would in all probability have struggled to interrupt into the first-team like he did in 2004.
In hindsight, perhaps Barca’s resolution to reject Ronaldo was greatest for each gamers…
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