REVEALED!!! – How Arsene Wenger Nearly Signed Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi
Former Arsenal Scott, while discussing the club’s biggest hits and misses, revealed that Arsene Wenger, while at Arsenal, came very close to signing both Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi.
Ronaldo and Messi are undoubtedly the two greatest players of this generation and had rumors of transfer surrounding them when they were younger players.
When it comes to transfers, there are always speculations and rumors in each transfer window linking different players, and many will end up falling through. But one which will remain present forever is the classic tale of Arsenal always edging closer to sign the best players in history.
Although it has some atom of truth in it this time around as the revelation is coming from a formal chief scout Francis Cagigao, who worked with the North London club during the Arsene Wenger era at the Arsenal.
– The attempt to sign Messi
– Missing out on Ronaldo
– Signing Reyes
– Magical Cazorla
– Flying to Brazil for Martinelli
– Saliba & Gabriel
Part 2 of my interview with Francis Cagigao – on some big Arsenal transfer hits and misses 👇 https://t.co/UJ9wo7tD30— Charles Watts (@charles_watts) September 17, 2020
Moreover, Ronaldo had, in the past, spoken publicly about the time he met the then Arsenal manager in person to sign for the Gunners before eventually going to Manchester United. Francis Cagigao is now revealing how the encounter went, and also the chances Arsenal, led by Arsene Wenger, had to sign Lionel Messi when he was younger.
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Ronaldo and Messi Came Close to Joining Arsenal
Speaking with Goal, Cagigao made the revelation while highlighting Arsenal’s transfer hits and misses.
“That was very close to happening,” the former scout recalled. “Obviously, he was a player we had looked at a lot at youth level.”
“I remember there were a couple of Italian clubs and obviously Spanish clubs who were very aware of Messi.”
“But he couldn’t play the national level because of the restriction on his status in the country at the time. He could only play regional games for Barcelona.”
He also revealed that there were talks between him as the chief scout and representatives, but due to legal issues, they discovered the deal couldn’t happen at that point.
“So, yes, there were talks between myself and representatives, and we got a very good feeling that there was a possibility that the player would want to join us,” adds Francis Cagigao.
“But, once we’d delved into the situation and looked at it from a legal point of view, we very quickly saw that it actually couldn’t happen. It was impossible. So, that was discarded once we saw that.”
Interesting! Could you have imagined Ronaldo and Messi playing at Arsenal together today? What a horrible nightmare it could have been for the English defenders. Feel free to share your thoughts with us via our comments section below!
