Manchester United came agonisingly close to signing Ronaldinho, reveals Paul Scholes

Brazilian star Ronaldinho rose to prominence while playing for PSG in the early days of his career between 2001-03. Ronaldinho was being courted by a host of European clubs towards the end of his time in Paris and Manchester United's Sir Alex Ferguson also wanted to make a move for the Brazilian forward as a replacement for David Beckham who was leaving to play for Real Madrid. However, things did not go as planned as Barcelona swooped in to bring Ronaldinho to LaLiga on a £25 million transfer.

Also Read | Manchester United players asked to leave Cheshire pitch for training without permission

Manchester United narrowly missed out on Ronaldinho, says Paul Scholes

In a recent interview with BBC, Premier League great Paul Scholes revealed how close Ronaldinho came to signing for Manchester United when Sir Alex Ferguson was at the helm at Old Trafford. The iconic English midfielder was quoted as saying "I can't remember what year it was but I really think the manager got him. He was away on pre-season and we were as close as announcing him and giving him a number but I think he ended up changing his mind at the last minute and signing for Barcelona.”

Also Read | Premier League legend Ryan Giggs reveals he was close to leaving Manchester United in 2004

Paul Scholes, who made 709 appearances for Manchester United and scored over 150 goals over the course of his career, also went on to compare Ronaldinho to his Manchester United teammate, Eric Cantona. Paul Scholes added, "It's strange really because we played Barcelona on that pre-season tour. We were all excited - Ronaldinho, what a player! I think he was coming from PSG at the time and we were all going to get to play with him and he's going to bring something special. Almost like what Eric Cantona brought to the team then three days later, we're playing against him and all trying to kick him because he didn't sign for us. It was disappointing but I was lucky enough to play with some great players and he'd have just been another unbelievable player I'd had played with but it just never happened."

Also Read | Who has Ronaldinho dated? Ex-Barcelona star's girlfriends and dating history revealed

Ronaldinho Manchester United failed transfer

Paul Scholes was looking forward to Ronaldinho Manchester United transfer

Also Read | Manchester United great Paul Scholes names ex-Fulham player as trickiest opponent ever