Reuters
Cristiano Ronaldo and Thierry Henry are widely regarded as the two greatest players to ever grace the Premier League, tearing English football apart for Manchester United and Arsenal, respectively.
Despite playing for the two biggest rivals of the late 1990s and early 2000s, Ronaldo and Henry were just one game away from playing for the same side.
Defences across England already had nightmares having to deal with one of the superstars at a time, never mind both. Henry and Ronaldo linking up could've actually happened.
How One Man Utd Game Changed Ronaldo's Path
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Back in 2003, Ronaldo was a highly sought-after teenager with bags of potential. As we all know, Manchester United snapped him up from Sporting CP, and the rest is history.
But that wasn't the plan all along. In fact, the Portuguese winger was originally set to sign for one of United's biggest rivals at the time, Arsenal. The Red Devils and the Gunners were the two leading forces in the English top-flight in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Cristiano Ronaldo helping Lionel Messi off the ground during a match between Barcelona and Real Madrid
Cristiano Ronaldo helping Lionel Messi off the ground during a match between Barcelona and Real Madrid
Arsene Wenger thought he was going to be welcoming a future Ballon d'Or winner to Highbury, only to be pipped to the post by his old rival Sir Alex Ferguson. Recalling what happened, Wenger told Arsenal's website:
The game between Man Utd and Sporting that Wenger mentioned was a pre-season friendly. Some members of the United side that day were so impressed by the wonderkid that they told Ferguson to sign him immediately.
Luka Modric with the Champions League trophy
Luka Modric with the Champions League trophy
"You could imagine at the time what it would have been like to have Thierry Henry and Ronaldo together," Wenger pointed out. "Later, Man United had Rooney, Ronaldo and Van Nistelrooy together; they had an exceptional football team, and Giggs and Scholes together. That would certainly have changed a little bit the history of my stay here as well."
Ronaldo Confirmed He Was Close to Arsenal Move
REUTERS/Stringer
After cementing himself as one of the best players in the world, and winning two Premier League titles and a Champions League, Ronaldo won the 2008 Ballon d'Or.
Following his biggest individual achievement to date, he confirmed that he was 'within an inch' of playing for Arsenal instead. He told France Football (per The Guardian):
Henry and Ronaldo would've been a feared attacking duo, but instead played for two of the biggest rivals in English football, before meeting again on opposite sides of El Clasico. Henry went to Barcelona and Ronaldo rocked up at Real Madrid a couple of years later.