Liverpool will hope to avoid a repeat of their past transfer battle with Manchester United with the summer window now officially open. Both Premier League sides are in the market for new attackers this month with the Red Devils previously coming out on top when going head-to-head with the Reds in the chase of Cristiano Ronaldo.
The 41-year-old – who is currently starring for Portugal in his sixth World Cup – was close to joining Liverpool in 2003 for just £4million. Then-Reds boss Gerard Houllier and assistant manager Phil Thompson were convinced they’d done enough to convince the forward to join from Sporting CP.
Thompson recalled a meeting with football agent Tony Henry at a dinner in Lisbon, where the pair discussed the details of a transfer that would ultimately never happen.
The Liverpool legend told The Athletic: “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 £1 million a year, net.” The Reds were unaware of Sir Alex Ferguson’s interest in Ronaldo as well as the Scotsman’s efforts to secure the youngster, who impressed against United that same summer in a friendly.
The influence of Ferguson proved pivotal as Ronaldo ended up rejecting Liverpool and other interested parties to sign for United. Thompson continued: “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?'” Ronaldo’s acquisition resulted in United reclaiming their place atop of world football as they won the Champions League five years later on top of three straight league titles in his six years in Manchester.
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View 2 ImagesManchester United became the best team in the world once again thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo(Image: Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
Ronaldo left Old Trafford for Real Madrid in 2009 for a then-world record fee of £80m. After becoming the Spanish giants’ all-time top scorer, he signed for Juventus in 2018 before making a triumphant return to United three years later.
An acrimonious departure followed 15 months later after falling out with Erik ten Hag as he then joined Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr a month later. Ronaldo remains an integral figure of Portugal’s team at the age of 41 with the World Cup 2026 expected to be his last appearance at the tournament.
Liverpool and United have both registered an interest in RB Leipzig winger Yan Diomande this summer with the Reds currently the front-runner to sign the Ivory Coast star. However, the Bundesliga side have reportedly placed an £87m price tag on their 19-year old prized asset.
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