Following in the footsteps of the Spice Boys in both goal scoring ability and narcissism, Cristiano Ronaldo very nearly became part of Gerard Houllier's starting eleven whilst the self-conscious striker was still but a twinkle in Fergie's eye. Or that might be whisky, we're not sure. According to Houllier he saw the young Ronaldo playing in the Toulon Under-21 tournament back in 2003, and made a move to snap him up immediately. The only reason he didn't? Ronaldo demanded such a ludicrous wage - which didn't gel with Liverpool's usual pay scale - that Houllier was blocked from making the transfer. Meanwhile, Man United played a friendly against Sporting Lisbon, saw the young striker in action, and promptly signed him. Apparently they did all right with him up front, right up until the point he left for a record £80 million to Real Madrid. The next few years went pretty well for Liverpool without him, but the teams may cross paths again if we end up (and we're hoping and praying this won't happen) Luis Suarez packs his bag for Spain; Ronaldo has already addressed those rumours, insisting he would hate to play alongside him. You and us both, Cristiano...
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
