Ronaldinho was 48 hours from Manchester United transfer but snub saw Cristiano Ronaldo join
From that magical toe-poke at Stamford Bridge to his sublime free-kick at Fratton Park, Ronaldinho did bits in England… on occasion.
But the Brazil legend, one of football's great entertainers, never graced the Premier League — much to England's regret and possibly goalkeeper David Seaman's delight.
Even Blackburn Rovers tried to bring the former Barcelona and Milan forward to these shores at one point. If you don't buy a ticket, eh?
Back in 2003, though, there was an actual chance the South American superstar would sign for a Premier League club when Manchester United tried to buy him from Paris Saint-Germain.
In fact, they were just 48 hours from landing a 23-year-old Ronaldinho, who had already earmarked himself as one of Europe's most exciting players, lit up the 2002 World Cup, knocked England out, and manager Sir Alex Ferguson was obsessed.
There weren't many clubs who could out-muscle the Premier League side in the transfer market back then, but it was game over as soon as Barcelona got involved.
With a fierce tradition of eccentric Brazilians — Romario, Rivaldo, Ronaldo — the Nou Camp was Ronaldinho's spiritual home, even if nobody knew it yet.
It was his dream and, as it transpired, his destiny to play for the Catalans.
Maybe that's why the stars aligned in such a mad way to ensure that's where he ended up instead of Old Trafford.
With Barca falling into obscurity, Joan Laporta and Sandro Rosell led their bid for the club's presidency by promising one of three superstar signings: David Beckham, Thierry Henry, or Ronaldinho.
Upon election, the new president and vice president failed to lure Henry from Arsenal and lost Beckham to Real Madrid, so they nicked Ronaldinho from United's grasp at the last minute and
Read on talksport.com
