Former Liverpool assistant manager Phil Thompson claimed he “almost choked” on his dinner when then wonder-boy Cristiano Ronaldo signed for Manchester United

Former Liverpool bosses Phil Thompson and Gerard Houllier were enjoying their lunch when they “almost choked” after finding out Cristiano Ronaldo had chosen to sign for Manchester United the first time around.

Liverpool were convinced they had swayed then wonder-boy Ronaldo to sign for the Reds in a deal worth just £4million back in 2003 – which would be around £7m now. Ronaldo had been impressing scouts from across the globe during his time with Sporting in Lisbon, and Liverpool were keen on securing his signature.

Thompson has recalled going out for a meal with footballing agent Tony Henry in Lisbon and hashing out the small print of a transfer to England. However, this deal never came to fruition and Ronaldo opted to join Liverpool’s fiercest rivals – Manchester United.

Speaking to The Athletic back in 2020, Thompson recalled: “I can still remember Tony’s exact words. It was all very nice and relaxed. It’s £4million and it can be paid over the four years of his contract, so £1million a year. That seemed very reasonable. Then I asked about the salary and Tony told me it was £1million a year, net.

“On the Tuesday morning, we were having lunch at the training ground and it came up on the yellow strap on Sky Sports, ‘Manchester United have signed Cristiano Ronaldo for £12.2million’. Gerard and myself almost choked on our food. I can remember Gerard jumping up and saying, ‘What the hell has gone on there?'”

Unbeknownst to Liverpool, Sir Alex Ferguson had been working behind the scenes to get a deal done with the Portuguese youngster after he shone in a pre-season friendly against United. Liverpool’s hit-and-miss would be one of United’s greatest gains as Ronaldo would go on to be one of the best players of the new generation for the club.

In his first spell with United, Ronaldo scored 118 goals, winning three Premier League titles, two League Cups, one FA Cup, the Champions League and the Club World Cup.

Portugal’s talisman left Old Trafford in 2009 and headed to Spain to play with the coveted Real Madrid and won an impressive four Champions League titles with the club – as well as two League titles, the Copa del Rey and Supercopa, two UEFA Super Cups and three FIFA Club World Cups.

Sir Alex Ferguson stole Ronaldo from under Liverpool’s noses ( 
Image:
Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
Ronaldo then set his sights on Italy and signed with Juventus in a €100million deal – the highest for any Italian club at the time. He won the league twice with Juventus, and also got his hands on two Supercoppas and the Coppa Italia once.

Then, he made the journey from Turin to Manchester once again and stepped foot onto the Old Trafford pitch in 2021 – where he reached 800 career goals and scored 24 altogether in an overall disappointing season for the club.

After reaching an impasse with the club and United manager Erik ten Hag, Ronaldo headed to Saudi Arabia to join Al Nassr where he now plays his club football. The Ballon D’or winner has scored 913 goals altogether up until now and is aiming to add to his Euro 2016 victory by grabbing the trophy at Euro 2024 in Germany in what could be his final international tournament for his nation.

Had he joined Liverpool over 20 years ago, though, his career would’ve panned out very differently.

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