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Many a times, a club misses out on a player who later turns out to become one of the best in the sport.
Robert Lewandowski has become a hot topic after his four goal tally against Real Madrid in the Champions League and big clubs across Europe are after the Polish man. But back in 2010, Blackburn Rovers had a chance to sign the star striker for a mere fee of 4.3 million pounds. Unfortunately for Rovers, the deal did not succeed.
Blackburn also missed out on another player who would go on to become one of the most loved and greatest footballers of all time.
Let’s take a look at the top 5 near transfer misses.
5. Michael Laudrup (Juventus to Liverpool)
What happened: Laudrup played for a club called KB during his early days and had a chance to join Liverpool in the 1980s. Liverpool offered the Dane a 3-year contract but later changed it to a 4-year deal. This last moment change caused Laudrup to reject the deal and he was soon transferred to Juventus for $1m which was a Danish transfer record during his time.
What Liverpool missed out upon: Laudrup turned out to become one of Denmark’s best produced talents. Barcelona‘s Andres Iniesta was quoted saying – “Who is the best player in history? Laudrup.” The Dane went on to play for to clubs across Europe including Juventus, Barcelona and Real Madrid.
4. Roy Keane (Nottingham Forest to Blackburn)
What happened: Roy Keane had a lot of haters during his playing days. In 1993, the then Blackburn boss Kenny Dalglish thought he had signed the Irish player but Keane opted to play for the Red Devils instead.
What Blackburn Rovers missed out upon: Roy Keane went on to win almost every trophy with United and also became the club captain.
3. Cristiano Ronaldo (Sporting Lisbon to Arsenal)
What happened: Cristiano Ronaldo used to play for Sporting Lisbon. According to statements made by Arsene Wenger, Ronaldo was shown around the Emirates stadium and was also given an Arsenal shirt with his name on it. But the Portuguese decided to join Manchester United instead and went on to become one of the world’s best player.
What Arsenal missed out upon: Arsenal probably could have got a trophy or two with Ronaldo’s help and the Portuguese became the costliest player when he moved on to Real Madrid from United.
2. Zinedine Zidane (Bordeaux to Blackburn)
What happened: Zidane is one of the most loved footballers of all time. He had it all – vision, trickery, speed. Blackburn had a chance to sign the legend but things didn’t work out. “Why do you want to sign Zidane when we have Tim Sherwood?” – This is what the chairman Jack Walker said who decided that Zidane was not a top quality player.
What Blackburn Rovers missed out upon: Needless to say, Zidane became one of the greatest ever footballers.
1. Diego Maradona (Argentinos Juniors to Sheffield United)
What happened: Sheffield United had agreed upon a deal worth £600,000 for the Argentine. But later on it was revealed that there were no funds to complete the deal and so the negotiations collapsed.
What Sheffield United missed out upon: Maradona was probably the most popular footballer during his time. The talented player won the World Player of the Year and a World Cup while Sheffield struggled to fight for promotion in the lower leagues.
Notable mentions:Paul Gascoigne (Newcastle to Manchester United)Alan Shearer (Newcastle United to Manchester United)Eric Cantona (Nimes to Sheffield Wednesday)
