Gerard Pique reveals Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo was close to Barcelona transfer

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Former Manchester United centre-back Gerard Pique has admitted that Cristiano Ronaldo was close to joining Barcelona instead of Real Madrid at the time of his Old Trafford exit in June 2009.

Following a sensational 2008/09 campaign, Ronaldo, who scored 26 goals and claimed 12 assists that season, sealed a big-money move to Madrid, joining the La Liga giants in what, at the time, was a world-record fee of £80million.

The Portuguese star, of course, went on to be one of the greatest players to have ever donned a famous Los Blancos shirt, winning 15 major honours and scoring 450 goals in 438 games, before sealing a move to Juventus in July 2018.

However, Ronaldo, who has since come full circle, returning to United last summer, was close to joining Barcelona before putting pen to paper on a deal at the Bernabeu, according to Pique. "Cristiano was once close to Barca before he signed for Madrid," Pique admitted, speaking on Ibai’s Twitch channel. "Same for Vinicius [Junior]." Pique, who left United just over 12 months before Ronaldo did, joining Barcelona, is still at the Spanish club and continues to be a regular fixture.