Outgoing Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger revealed that failing to sign Cristiano Ronaldo was his biggest transfer regret during his almost 22-year-old career at the Premier League club. Wenger signed some best players during his reign, including Robert Pires, Thierry Henry, Mesut Ozil, and Cesc Fabregas, but Arsenal couldn’t sign Ronaldo in 2003, who signed to Manchester United instead.
“The obvious player (that we missed out on) that comes to mind is (Cristiano) Ronaldo,” Wenger told Arsenal’s website www.arsenal.com.
“He was here with his mother and we were very close. Then Man United came in and they had Carlos Queiroz at the time, who was their coach. United played against Sporting Lisbon and Ronaldo was outstanding and they signed him.
“You could imagine at the time what it would have been like to have Thierry Henry and Ronaldo together… That would certainly have changed a little bit the history of my stay here as well.”