Former Manchester United star had Arsenal #9 shirt

Arsene Wenger has revealed just how close Cristiano Ronaldo was to signing for Arsenal before United stepped in at the last minute to sign him.

“He was very close to coming here,” said Wenger. “He has a number nine shirt with Ronaldo on the back from Arsenal Football Club. What happened was that Carlos Queiroz went to Manchester United and they snapped him away from us because he knew him from Sporting. That’s what life is about. You give your best but sometimes you might find that people are stronger than you. That can happen as well.”

Ronaldo went on to win three league titles, the European Cup, the FA Cup and two League Cups at United, whilst Arsenal have won nothing since 2005.