10 Players You Didn't Know Aston Villa Almost Signed
4. Wesley Sneijder
Netherlands playmaker Wesley Sneijder could have been gracing Villa Park after then-manager Martin ONeill eyed up a sensational bid to sign him from Real Madrid in 2009. The out-of-favour midfielder was linked with Villa and Inter Milan, according to the Daily Mail, but the former were considered favourites ahead of the Italians. If there were players like Sneijder, who might be surplus to requirements at a club, then I think you should be interested. How else are you going to try and improve your team?" said O'Neill. Sneijder did end up joining Inter Milan in the end, and won the treble under manager Jose Mourinho in 2009/10. The Italian giants also won the Suppercoppa Italia and the FIFA Club World Cup, so his decision was clearly justified, especially with Aston Villa losing in the League Cup final to Manchester United, and losing to Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final the same season.
Crippy Cooke, 23, is a freelance Football Writer contributing to What Culture. He's had work featured on Zoo, MSN, London 24, The Telegraph, The Huffington Post, and was recently named Writer of the Year on FTBpro - while also a nominee for Best Male Blog in the Football Blogging Awards.
