In July 2003, Sir Alex Ferguson told reporters Manchester United were “very close” to signing Ronaldinho.
He was not exaggerating.
United had agreed personal terms with the Brazilian, were negotiating a fee with Paris Saint-Germain and had made an offer worth around £20 million plus £3.5 million in add-ons.
Ronaldinho wanted the move.
Four days later, he signed for Barcelona.
It remains one of Manchester United’s biggest transfer near-misses, made even stranger by the fact that a few weeks later Ferguson signed an 18-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo instead.
Ronaldinho Before Barca
The Ronaldinho United were trying to sign was not yet the player who would dominate football at Barcelona.
The 23-year old had won the 2002 World Cup with Brazil and was already regarded as one of Europe’s most gifted players, but his club career was still developing.
He had spent two seasons with PSG after arriving from Grêmio.
In Ligue 1, he scored 17 goals in 55 appearances. Across all competitions, he scored 25 times in 77 games.
Good numbers, but not the output of the world-class superstar he would soon become.
His final season in Paris summed him up.
Ronaldinho could produce brilliant moments, but PSG finished 11th in Ligue 1, and his relationship with manager Luis Fernandez had become strained.
There were questions about consistency, very few about ability.
At the 2002 World Cup, he had already shown England what he could do. He created Rivaldo’s equaliser in the quarter-final, then beat David Seaman with that famous free-kick before being sent off.
Fergie saw a player fit for the No. 7 shirt.
Beckham Forced Out
United had just won the Premier League in 2002/03, but Ferguson was also pushing David Beckham towards the exit.
That matters because Beckham was not looking for a way out of Old Trafford. He was a boyhood United supporter, had come through the academy and had spent his entire senior career at the club.
By then, though, his relationship with Ferguson had broken down badly.
Beckham was still one of the best midfielders in world football and had been central to United’s success. He had won six Premier League titles, two FA Cups and the Champions League, while finishing second in the 1999 Ballon d’Or.
Real Madrid eventually signed him for around £25 million.
United were not just losing a global star. They were forcing out one of the defining players of Ferguson’s great side.
That left a major gap in the attack.
Ferguson’s main target was Ronaldinho.
United Started Negotiating
Manchester United chief executive Peter Kenyon opened talks with PSG.
United’s first offer, around £15 million, was rejected.
PSG wanted closer to €30 million.
Real Madrid were also interested and proposed a deal that would have seen Ronaldinho remain at PSG for another season before moving to Spain.
Ronaldinho did not want that.
He wanted to leave Paris immediately.
On July 10, his brother and agent Roberto Assis made Ronaldinho’s position public.
“Ronaldinho wants to go to Manchester United,” he said.
United now had the player’s preference.
The problem was agreeing on everything else.
Ronaldinho’s Brother Complicated The Deal
Roberto Assis was not just Ronaldinho’s brother.
He managed his career and conducted negotiations on his behalf.
United had to deal with PSG over the transfer fee while Assis handled Ronaldinho’s side of the agreement.
There was also an important clause in Ronaldinho’s PSG contract.
He was entitled to around 15% of any transfer fee.
PSG wanted Ronaldinho and Assis to waive that payment.
Former club Grêmio were also due a percentage of the transfer.
Every adjustment affected how much PSG actually received.
That helped make negotiations slower and more difficult.
Relations between PSG and United were already strained because PSG believed United had spoken directly to Ronaldinho’s representatives before reaching an agreement with the club.
Ferguson later made clear that he found dealing with Ronaldinho’s camp frustrating.
United Agreed Personal Terms
By mid-July, United were extremely close.
Ronaldinho had reportedly agreed personal terms worth around £60,000 per week.
United improved their offer to PSG.
On July 15, Ferguson spoke publicly.
“We are pursuing the Ronaldinho thing very intensely now,” he said.
“We are very close.”
Peter Kenyon travelled to France for more talks.
PSG’s asking price was around €30 million, then roughly £21 million.
United’s revised package moved towards that figure.
At one stage, PSG believed an acceptable deal worth around £23.5 million had been verbally discussed.
That should have been the final stage of the transfer.
Instead, it became the point at which the deal began to come apart.
The Fee Became A Problem
PSG president Francis Graille believed he had verbally agreed to a package worth around £23.5 million with Kenyon.
According to reports at the time, United then sent through a formal offer closer to £15.5 million.
PSG were furious.
United later improved their offer again to £20 million plus a further £3.5 million based on future honours.
PSG publicly admitted that package was close to what they wanted.
By July 17, United appeared to be in front.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta even admitted his club could not compete with United financially.
If Ronaldinho is coming to Barcelona, it is because he really wants to,” Laporta said.
That became crucial.
Barcelona’s Obscure Advantage
Barcelona had finished sixth in La Liga in 2002/03 and were preparing to play in the UEFA Cup.
They were not offering Ronaldinho Champions League football.
But they had Sandro Rosell.
Rosell, Barcelona’s vice-president, already had a relationship with Ronaldinho and Roberto Assis through his previous work with Nike in Brazil.
That gave Barcelona direct access to the people making the decision.
Barcelona had also missed out on David Beckham, who had joined Real Madrid.
Laporta needed a major signing.
Ronaldinho became the priority.
While United continued negotiating with PSG, Barcelona worked on convincing Ronaldinho.
Ferguson Began To Doubt The Deal
Ferguson’s confidence changed quickly.
On July 15, he said United were very close.
By July 17, reports suggested he was questioning Ronaldinho’s commitment to joining United.
Barcelona had returned strongly.
Assis was still negotiating.
PSG were using the competition between clubs to push the fee higher.
United eventually imposed a deadline.
They wanted the transfer settled before leaving for their pre-season tour of the United States.
Their final offer went in.
The deal was not completed.
United withdrew.
Barcelona Sign Ronaldinho
On July 19, Barcelona announced Ronaldinho after agreeing to a deal worth €25 million up front, with another €5 million in variables. It was not a fee wildly beyond United’s reach, which made the collapse even more frustrating.
Four days earlier, Ferguson had said the transfer was close. Now Ronaldinho was being presented at the Camp Nou on a five-year deal.
Barcelona then got the years United had been trying to buy into. Ronaldinho won two La Liga titles, the 2006 Champions League and the 2005 Ballon d’Or, developing from a gifted 23-year-old World Cup winner into the best player in world football.
Conciliation Signing
United still added several players that summer, including Tim Howard, Eric Djemba-Djemba, David Bellion and Brazil World Cup winner Kleberson for around £5.5 million.
None filled the attacking role Ronaldinho had been lined up for.
Then came a pre-season friendly against Sporting CP in Lisbon.
An 18-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo started for Sporting and gave United a miserable evening. Ferguson was already aware of him, but that performance pushed the move forward quickly.
Within the evening, United agreed a deal worth around £12.24 million.
Ronaldo arrived at Old Trafford and was handed Beckham’s number seven shirt.
Did United Almost Sign Ronaldinho Twice?
Ronaldinho was linked with United again as his Barcelona career faded around 2007 and 2008, but nothing from that period came close to the seriousness of 2003.
There were no comparable negotiations, no agreed personal terms and no public suggestion from Ferguson that another deal was close.
The genuine near-miss happened once.
United had the player’s interest, his brother was involved in the negotiations and Ferguson believed the transfer was nearly done. Barcelona took advantage of the delays, Ronaldinho went to Spain and United signed Cristiano Ronaldo instead.
Few failed transfers have worked out quite like that.
