United Were So Near to Sign Ronaldo and Bale in 2013: Manchester United legend Patrice Evra revealed that Sir Alex Ferguson nearly landed Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale from Real Madrid before he retired in 2013. Ferguson was preparing for a sensational £200m.
Evra told this to the Obi One Podcast. According to Evra, Ferguson was ready to continue coaching United and was excited about this whopping double deal that would have changed the history of football forever.
Cristiano Ronaldo had left United in 2008 for a record-breaking £80 million deal, and the rest was history. While the Portuguese was winning titles and scoring tons of goals at Bernabeu, Manchester United slowly went back to the shadow of the team once it was when Ronaldo was there.
United Were So Near to Sign Ronaldo and Bale in 2013
Ferguson, who stepped out of Old Trafford in 2013 after winning the Premier League title, was delighted to tell Patrice Evra his plan and wanted over £200 million for the deal. However, according to Patrice, United owners refused to spend that amount of money.
“One of the most saddest days, I didn’t cry, I was in shock. The reason why is because two weeks before, he brought me into his office [and said], ‘Patrice look at those people, they think I’m going to retire, I’m going to be [at the club for] another 10 years, but we need to win more Champions Leagues. He said, ‘Patrice, Cristiano Ronaldo agreed 99 per cent to come back and Gareth Bale [too].”
“He needed £200 million and the club refused to give him those £200 million. And now, they spent a billion on whatever… it was 2013, just before he retired, so that [is] why I remember when I got out of his office, I was like, ‘Cristiano is back, Gareth Bale, we’re back in business’ after winning the title and everything.”
United has spent over a billion since then on the transfer market, and all went in vain as the club couldn’t go back to its prime days. The Red Devils are currently in the lower half of the Premier League table, sitting at 13th with just 7 points from 6 games.
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