Ronaldo almost an Arsenal player

Cristiano Ronaldo has found himself in some pretty classy company: he, along with just about every other major player in world football, didn’t end up playing for Arsenal.

The news that Ronaldo was a target for Arsenal will come as a big shock to Arsenal fans critical of the club’s lack of ambition; the news that he didn’t join, much less so.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has revealed that he’d even given the Portuguese forward the Arsenal number nine shirt.

In a documentary called Ronaldo Footballing Superstar, set to be screened tonight on ITV4, Wenger has now explained how close he came to signing the prolific striker

Wenger says: “He was very close to coming here. He has a number nine shirt with Ronaldo on the back from Arsenal Football Club.

“What happened was that Carlos Queiroz went to Manchester United and they snapped him away from us because he knew him from Sporting.

“That’s what life is about. You give your best but sometimes you might find that people are stronger than you. That can happen as well.”