As revealed by the book, ‘Messi vs Ronaldo’, Everton has the chance to sign Cristiano Ronaldo back in 2002. And the transfer fee quoted to them was only £2 million.
However, the Toffees decided against signing the 17-year-old from Sporting CP at the time. Their reasoning behind it was to develop Wayne Rooney into a star player, and show full confidence in him.
Cristiano Ronaldo could have joined Everton from Sporting
Ronaldo went on to stay with his boyhood club for one more season before joining Manchester United in the Premier League. And the rest is history, with the winger becoming one of the best in the world.
Wayne Rooney had an impressive spell at Everton, but eventually went on to join Manchester United as well. He left for United a year after Ronaldo had joined the club. And eventually, he would play together with Cristiano Ronaldo for the Red Devils, featuring in 205 games together. Rooney remains Manchester United’s all-time top scorer with 253 goals from 559 games.
Premier League clubs Newcastle United and Arsenal were also interested in signing a 17-year-old Ronaldo. Other clubs from Europe included Juventus, Parma and Lyon, all of whom failed to sign him.
