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#3 Cristiano Ronaldo
The idea of Real Madrid legend Cristiano Ronaldo securing a transfer to their arch-rivals Barcelona seems too absurd to be true. However, such a scenario was just moments away from attaining factual status in 2003. At the time, Ronaldo was still plying his trade at Sporting CP.
Having recently gained the presidential position at Barcelona, Joan Laporta introduced a new transfer policy at Camp Nou. The Catalan politician had already authorized the signings of Ronaldinho and Rafael Marquez and was looking to add Deco to the club's ranks.
However, due to a lack of funds, Deco's agent offered another one of his clients to Barcelona. At a nominal rate of €17m, the Spanish giants had the chance to sign a future megastar. Nevertheless, Laporta passed on the opportunity of a lifetime and instead, signed the Portuguese's teammate Ricardo Quaresma. While Ronaldo went on to become one of the most appreciated athletes of all time, Quaresma failed to fulfill his potential and was transferred to Porto after a solitary season at Camp Nou.
#2 Alfredo Di Stefano
Perhaps one of the most disputed transfers of all time, Alfredo Di Stefano's move to Real Madrid is still contested by many Barcelona fans. Following two impressive spells with River Plate and Millonarios, Di Stefano garnered a lot of attention from European clubs.
Barcelona were the first ones to spawn an inquiry about the status of the mercurial forward. However, Blaugrana initiated transfer proceedings with River Plate, the last FIFA-affiliated club to have had connections with the Argentine. This became a point of contention as Di Stefano had an ongoing contract with Millonarios at the time.
Sure enough, this ignited friction between the two Spanish giants, with Real Madrid also acquiring half of Di Stefano's rights. A solution was proposed by FIFA that would see the Argentine appear for both clubs in alternative seasons. This agreement soon fell through and Di Stefano was transferred to Los Blancos on a permanent basis. The legendary forward went on to win five European Cups with Madrid while Barcelona were left dumbfounded.
#1 David Beckham
In pole position is the infamous transfer saga of 2003, which starred David Beckham, a newly elected Joan Laporta, and Ronaldinho as its lead characters. Laporta's presidential campaign that year had a huge selling point: the promise to bring fan-favorite Beckham to Barcelona if the Catalan was to receive majority votes.
Following his nomination, Laporta convinced Barcelona fans that he already had plans to make do on his claims. With Beckham almost certain to part ways with Manchester United, Barcelona seemed to be his obvious destination. However, it was revealed that the international superstar had never agreed to personal terms with the club and was disappointed at it being used as a political pawn.
Real Madrid wasted no time in taking advantage of the situation and announced Beckham's transfer to the Bernabeu a few weeks later. In an attempt to save face, Laporta signed Ronaldinho as the Englishman's replacement. Safe to say, this transfer merry-go-round completely rewrote the history of the El Clasico rivals as Ronaldinho went on to earn legendary status at Barcelona.
Also read: 5 best Barcelona academy stars who moved elsewhere in recent years
