Speaking on the SportBible YouTube channel, Arsene Wenger has been speaking about just how close he came to signing Cristiano Ronaldo back in 2004.
Wenger has so many stories about players he almost signed for the Gunners, from Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Kylian Mbappe, but perhaps the most painful is Ronaldo.
Wenger says a deal was agreed for Ronaldo to head to Highbury, but Manchester United hijacked the deal late on.
What’s been said?
Wenger was asked which player he most regrets not signing for the Gunners.
“Cristiano Ronaldo. I thought it was possible. If we were a fraction quicker, a few days, because we had agreed, then Manchester United came in five or six days later, so I would say at the start of my career, Cristiano Ronaldo,” Wenger said.
Imagine
Could you imagine how different the footballing landscape would look right now if Arsenal had signed Ronaldo instead of United?
Would the Gunners’ historic 49-game unbeaten run have been ended by United in 2005 if Ronaldo wasn’t there? Would the Red Devils have won three league titles between 2006 and 2008 without the five-time Ballon d’Or winner? Would Ronaldo have still ended up at Real Madrid? It’s interesting to ponder what would have happened.
One thing is for sure, Ronaldo would have made Arsenal a better team throughout that period, and who knows? Perhaps the 2006 Champions League final would have gone a different way if CR7 was lining up against Barcelona that day in Paris.
Ronaldo has scored 88 Premier League goals to date, and we can imagine that Arsenal fans wish those strikes were for the Gunners rather than the Red Devils.
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