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Barcelona defender Gerard Pique has said that Cristiano Ronaldo was close to moving to the Camp Nou before his record-breaking switch to Real Madrid.
After months of negotiations, Los Blancos signed Ronaldo from Manchester United in the summer of 2009. The Whites spent a whopping £80 million to get the Ballon d’Or winner, but the move paid off handsomely.
With the number 7 leading their line, Los Merengues broke Barcelona’s dominance in La Liga, and went on to create unprecedented dominance in Europe. Between 2009 and 2018, the Portugal international broke numerous records for Real Madrid.
His tally of 450 goals, including 20 against Barcelona, helped Madrid to two La Liga and four Champions League titles among other honours. The competitive Ronaldo always used to be at his meanest and fittest against the Blaugrana, which made him a villain in Catalonia.
Imagining Real Madrid’s record goalscorer in Barcelona’s famous red and blue strip might seem like a dystopian nightmare to many. Pique, though, has said that the Camp Nou outfit were once close to snapping up the Portuguese sharpshooter. On Ibai’s Twitch channel, Pique said:
“Cristiano was once close to Barca before he signed for Madrid. "
Before ending up on opposite sides of the fiercest rivalry in Spain, Ronaldo and Pique played together at Old Trafford. The duo won three trophies together - the Champions League, the Premier League and the Community Shield - between 2004 and 2008.
Ronaldo’s old comments on Ousmane Dembele resurfaces
Amid rumours linking Ousmane Dembele with a move to Manchester United, Cristiano Ronaldo’s old comments about the player have resurfaced. In a 2017 interview, the Portugal captain lauded Dembele for his quality, saying he had the potential to become a top player.
He said:
“(There are) at least ten players with very, very great potential. I see some with great potential: (Marco) Asensio, (Kylian) Mbappe, Neymar, (Ousmane) Dembele, (Eden) Hazard, (Marcus) Rashford… and some others.”
The Frenchman, though, has not yet been able to fulfil his potential since his €140 million switch to Barcelona in 2017. With six months left on his contract, he might have already played his last game for the Blaugrana. United and PSG are among a few clubs interested in signing up the Frenchman.
Still only 24, the former Borussia Dortmund man has time to turn around his fortunes around. Whether he will be able to keep himself fit and make a tangible impact remains to be seen, though.
