Cristiano Ronaldo persuaded two Man Utd players to join the club with a simple phone call and one became a cult hero
Cristiano Ronaldo convinced two players to sign for Manchester United instead of Arsenal with a simple phone call.
Ronaldo himself was wanted by Arsenal when he was making waves as a youngster at Sporting CP but decided to join United for a fee of £12.75 million in 2003 and developed into the best player in the world.
A year after Ronaldo won the Ballon d'Or in 2008, he left in a then world-record £80 million move to Real Madrid and returned for a second spell in 2021.
But it was the Portuguese superstar who persuaded a pair of stars to join him at Old Trafford. Twin full-backs Rafael and Fabio da Silva were courted by Arsenal when they were coming through the Fluminense academy but were also being monitored by United after scout Les Kershaw scouted the "two little whippets".
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With Sir Alex Ferguson recommended to do a deal, they signed for United in February 2007 - with Ronaldo playing a key role.
Ronaldo's role in double deal
"He called my phone, and I'll never forget that,” Rafael said on the UTD Podcast.
"My phone had all the zeros [on the screen, to indicate an international call] and I was saying 'Who is this? I've never received a call like this.' I answered, and I knew him because I'd trained with him before.
"He just said: 'Ah, [Portuguese greeting]!’ I ran to my bus saying: 'It's Ronaldo, it's Ronaldo! He's calling us to speak!'
"He just said: 'It's raining here, it's raining here in Manchester, like you know.' He said: 'I call to say to you guys: sign for Manchester United. I know you are going to like it,' et cetera.
"I could not believe [it]. It was amazing."
Rafael was the more successful of the twins, making 170 appearances and becoming United's first-choice right-back after club captain Gary Neville retired.
He lifted Premier League titles during his time at Old Trafford, whereas his brother only got his hands on one medal and played just 56 times before signing for Cardiff City.
Fabio later turned out for Middlesbrough, Nantes and Gremio, while Rafael represented Lyon, Istanbul Basaksehir and Botafogo.
Topics: Cristiano Ronaldo, Man Utd
Josh Lawless