He was supposed to be the marquee signing to make Manchester United fans forget all about their dearly departed David Beckham. Having courted PSGs World Cup winner, who had broken English hearts with that exquisite lob over David Seaman the previous summer, it looked like Ronaldinho was on the verge of a big-money move to Manchester United.
''It almost happened with United. It was a matter of 48 hours, but Sandro Rosell had told me way before I got the offer: If I become Barca president, will you come? I said yes. It was only a matter of details with United when Rosell called to say he was going to win the elections there. I told the English I had chosen Barca. It was the right choice. - Ronaldinho, July 2014.
Its hard to argue with Ronaldinhos assessment. While Ferguson and Kenyon claimed that the Brazilian bottled the decision to become a special player at Manchester United, the former PSG playmaker did just fine on his own. During Ronaldinhos four seasons at the Nou Camp, the Old Trafford giants picked up two league titles, a Champions League, an FA Cup, and a League Cup. The Brazilian, however, exploded into a phenomenon, proving to be the catalyst that dragged Barcelona from UEFA Cup obscurity to successive league titles, two Supercopas and a Champions League. During his stay at the Nou Camp, he cemented himself as the undoubted greatest player on the planet, scooping a plethora of individual awards, including the 2005 Ballon dOr, to make players from any generation jealous.