Former Valencia sporting director Amedeo Carboni has revealed he almost poached Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United in 2006.
History will recount Ronaldo's time at Old Trafford as a coming-of-age maturation from raw talent to a trophy-laden star. And while this is most certainly true, one also can't forget Ronaldo's near-exit from United in the summer of 2006.
The Portugal winger was embroiled in controversy for the part he played in club team-mate Wayne Rooney being sent-off in the World Cup quarter-finals, which England eventually lost. Vandals targeted Ronaldo's home after the incident and he made his demands clear.
"I think I should get out of Manchester," said Ronaldo in July 2006, via the Guardian. "The circumstances are not right to keep playing in Manchester. In two or three days I will decide where to go.
"I always said I wanted to play in Spain. Nobody stood up for me at Manchester, although I did not do anybody any harm."
And speaking in an exclusive interview with Tribalfootball.com, Carboni has revealed Valencia were one of the teams who came close to prying Ronaldo away from the Theatre of Dreams.
"Well, in the 3 months of the market there were many names with the possibility of being signed and others not," he said.
"We can say that Cristiano Rolando had enough possibilities to sign for Valencia, due to his bad situation at Manchester United and the good economic situation and sporting success of Valencia CF at that time. But it's history now."
Ronaldo decided to stay at United for three more seasons before joining Real Madrid, where he would win four Champions League trophies.
The 34-year-old has spent the past two seasons at Juventus and remains one of the world's best footballers.
Carboni stayed in the role of sporting director at Valencia until July 2007 and has ruled out a return to the position.
Asked if he could you be tempted returning to football as a sporting director again, Carboni replied: "It's not my intention."
