Barcelona rejected the chance to sign Cristiano Ronaldo before he joined Manchester United, according to the club’s former president Joan Laporta.
Laporta however insists he does not regret missing out on Ronaldo.
The 35-year-old Ronaldo left United for Barca’s rivals Real Madrid and is now continuing to thrive with Serie A giants Juventus.
“We were about to sign Ronaldinho and Rafa Marquez,” Laporta said during an interview with Iniestazo.
“Marquez’s people proposed Cristiano Ronaldo to us. He was at Sporting at the time.
“One of his agents said that they had a player who they had sold to [Manchester] United for 19 million, but they’d sell him to us for 17 million.
“But we had already invested in Ronaldinho at the time. Cristiano played more out wide than in the centre. We thought we were covered, so we rejected him and I don’t regret it.”
Ronaldo recently beat Messi to be named Player of the Century.