Reliable authors claim Everton snubbed £2million chance to sign Cristiano Ronaldo
Everton were given the chance to sign Cristiano Ronaldo in 2002 but chose not to, according to authors Jonathan Clegg and Joshua Robinson.
Back in 2002, David Moyes had just taken over at Goodison Park, and the Toffees were bringing through a talented young star named Wayne Rooney.
However, Clegg and Robinson, who are preparing for the release of their latest book ‘Messi vs Ronaldo’ in November, claim that Everton’s focus on Rooney stopped them from signing a 17-year-old Ronaldo for just £2million. [Daily Mail]
Just two years down the line, both Rooney and Ronaldo ended up at Manchester United after the Red Devils signed the former for just short of £30million [Sky Sports] and Ronaldo for £12million [The Mirror].
Clegg and Johnson, who both work for the Wall Street Journal, also claimed that Newcastle and Arsenal rejected the chance to sign the young Portuguese winger.
What could have been
In an alternate timeline, it’s Everton that end up with a strikeforce of Rooney and Ronaldo instead of Manchester United, and who knows what success that duo could have brought to Goodison Park.
But it’s hard to blame the Toffees for rejecting the chance to sign Ronaldo. At the time he was relatively unproven at Sporting Lisbon and looked far less developed than Rooney.
In the very next season, Rooney broke through into Everton’s first team and scored eight goals in 36 appearances for Moyes’ side. Ronaldo netted five in 31 games in Portugal, making it seem as though Everton had made the right call at the time.
It’ll go down as a ‘what if’ moment for Everton and it will likely be up there among Moyes’ biggest regrets. But the Scotsman still did a superb job with the Toffees during his 11-year spell and did sign some diamonds in the rough.
It’s one to look back on and laugh.