Mitchell van Bergen has admitted that he ‘almost’ joined Neil Warnock’s Middlesbrough before putting pen to paper with Ligue 1 outfit Reims instead, while speaking to De Telegraaf.
As ten-man Boro were grinding out a 1-1 draw with Blackburn Rovers at the Riverside, Warnock’s one-that-got-away would have been rubbing his eyes in disbelief, pinching himself as he rubbed shoulders with Marco Verratti, Kylian Mbappe and a certain Lionel Messi, looking all strange and dystopian in Parisien blue.
While Messi might have rejected Van Bergen’s feverish attempts to swap shirts at full-time – the Argentine superstar is famously picky about who he exchanges jerseys with – Van Bergen will forever be able to reflect on those 20 precious minutes he spent sharing a pitch with arguably the greatest footballer in the history of the game.
Why did Mitchell van Bergen reject Neil Warnock?
Middlesbrough agreed a £1.7 million deal to sign the quicksilver winger from Heerenveen before Reims hijacked the deal at the eleventh hour – a fact that has since been confirmed by the Eredivisie club’s technical director, Ferry de Haan.
Despite beginning his Ligue 1 career with a 2-0 home defeat to table-topping Paris Saint-Germain, Van Bergen is convinced he has made the right decision.
“(The move to Middlesbrough) was almost finished,” he said.
“But, at the last minute, Reims made an offer and that felt great. (Reims are) very familiar, atmospheric.”
Middlesbrough moved on from Van Bergen by landing the similarly speedy Onel Hernandez on a loan deal from Norwich City, although it remains to be seen if the North East outfit can secure the services of Sporting Lisbon striker Andraz Sporar before tonight’s 11:00pm deadline.
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