Sir Alex Ferguson missed out on signing a player described as the “best player I played with” by former Manchester United forward Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Ferguson, 83, cannot often be criticised for his decision-making during his trophy-laden 26-season tenure at Man United. However, like everyone, he did occasionally get things wrong.
Cast your mind back to the 1996/97 season, United secured their fourth Premier League title under the guidance of the Scot and by that point had fully established themselves as the dominant force in English football.
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As a result, they were attracting top players such as Andy Cole and Eric Cantona who went on to become club legends. However, the already strong strike force could have been bolstered even more by an iconic forward.
The man in question was described as “the best player I played with at Real Madrid” by former United marksman and now-Leicester City boss Ruud van Nistelrooy when he spoke to UEFA in 2017.
“Fantastic player, what special skills he had and especially the kind of guy he is too,” said Van Nistelrooy. “So, for me, the best ever.”
And that man is Ronaldo Nazario - more commonly known as ‘R9’ - who the Dutchman had the pleasure of sharing a dressing room with for the 2006/07 season after he left United for Real Madrid.
Ronaldo, 48, never played in the Premier League but was seemingly close to joining United in 1997 after leaving Barcelona despite scoring 47 goals in 49 games for the La Liga outfit that season.
Ferguson admitted that his first reaction was to “wonder why Barca would sell such an important player for £13m”.
“Ronaldo’s agent asked me a little while ago if I would be interested in the player,” he wrote in his 1997 book ‘A Will to Win: The Manager’s Diary’.
“The agent said that there was no problem; there was a clause in his contract that allowed him to move if an offer came in above a certain sum," he added.
“He told me I wouldn’t even have to talk to the club. I could go straight to the Spanish FA.
“So then I asked him about money. I soon told him he was talking to the wrong guy, and that he should go and see the chairman and frighten the life out of him, not me!
“It transpired that the fee would be around $32m, with a salary of $4m a year. We are talking here about a £20m transfer fee plus a pay packet of well over £2m a year.”
Of course, that summer the 2002 World Cup winner signed for Inter Milan for a then-world record fee of £25m. And despite being plagued by injuries for much of his career, is still considered to be one of the greatest footballers of all time.
Topics: Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson, Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Premier League, Real Madrid, Leicester City, Football, Champions League
Luke Davies