Phil Thompson has lifted the lid on how Liverpool were agonisingly pipped by rivals Manchester United to the signing of a young Cristiano Ronaldo 17 years ago.
United signed a then teenage Ronaldo from Sporting Lisbon in a £12.2million deal back in 2003, with the forward going on to become an Old Trafford hero and win a plethora of silverware under Sir Alex Ferguson including three Premier League titles, the Champions League and an FA Cup.
He would also firmly establish himself as one of the biggest sporting stars on the planet and one of football's all-time greats, eventually joining Real Madrid for £80m in 2009 and then moving on to Serie A giants Juventus in 2018.
But it seems that Ronaldo's illustrious career could have begun very differently, with Thompson revealing that Liverpool had agreed a much cheaper deal with Sporting until United swooped to stun their great rivals and Reds boss Gerard Houllier.
“I can still remember [agent] Tony’s [Henry] exact words,” former Liverpool defender, assistant and caretaker manager Thompson told The Athletic. “It was all very nice and relaxed. ‘It’s £4 million and it can be paid over the four years of his contract, so £1 million a year’.
"That seemed very reasonable. Then I asked about the salary and Tony told me it was £1 million a year, net."
On the gazumping by United, Thompson added: “I will never forget what happened next.
In Pictures | Cristiano Ronaldo
"On the Tuesday morning, we were having lunch at the training ground and it came up on the yellow strap on Sky Sports, ‘Manchester United have signed Cristiano Ronaldo for £12.2 million’.
"Gerard and myself almost choked on our food. I can remember Gerard jumping up and saying, ‘What the hell has gone on there?’”
