Former Manchester United boss, Sir Alex Ferguson, had attempted to unite Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi at Barcelona back in 2009.
Real Madrid had shattered the then transfer record by spending £80 million on bringing Manchester Uniter star, Cristiano Ronaldo, to Bernabeu. The latest reports, however, claim Man Utd boss, Sir Alex Ferguson, wanted the Portuguese international to join Los Blancos’ rivals Barcelona instead.
The then Man United boss was angry with Real Madrid’s pursuit of their 24-year-old superstar and had made it clear that he would refrain from selling Ronaldo to the Spanish giants back in 2008.
"‘Do you think I would get into a contract with that mob. Jesus Christ, no chance. I wouldn’t sell them a virus.’Source Daily MailMore from Everything BarcaFC Barcelona tracking Belgian WonderkidFC Barcelona vs Betis Player RatingsBarça boss Xavi to get contract extensionFC Barcelona planning swoop for Arsenal midfielderBarcelona interested in €30 million wonderkid"
Blaugrana at the time was under the unprecedented command of Pep Guardiola, who were conquering everything. Madrid were on a desperate attempt to close the gap between them and their arch-rival, having already acquired the services of Xavi Alonso and Kaka before setting their sights on the final prised asset, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ferguson, however, went to extreme measures to prevent the deal from happening and even offered the highly valued player to Barca, linking him with Lionel Messi.
Spanish newspaper AS reports that the United manager attempted to guide Ronaldo to the Nou Camp, but the Portuguese star had already made up his mind on signing for Los Blancos.
However, that does not stop us footballing fans from wondering how Barca could have lined-up that season had Ronaldo decided to join a sensational Blaugrana frontline at the time with the front three consisting of Lionel Messi, Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Here is what the 2009 Barca squad could have looked like had Ronaldo decided to join the Catalans.
Goalkeeper: Victor Valdes
Right-back: Dani Alves
Centre-back(right): Carles Puyol
Centre-back(left): Gerard Pique
Left-back: Eric Abidal
Right midfielder: Cristiano Ronaldo
Defensive midfielder: Xavi Hernandez
Central midfielder: Andres Iniesta
Right midfielder: Thierry Henry
False-9 (CAM): Lionel Messi
Center-forward: Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Would you have liked to see Cristiano Ronaldo as a Barca player?