Cristiano Ronaldo reportedly came within touching distance of joining Valencia back in 2006 after a falling out with striker Wayne Rooney prompted the star to consider his options.
In a shocking revelation by Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo, legendary forward Ronaldo came so close to joining Valencia after the 2006 FIFA World Cup that he had even signed a contract.
According to Amadeo Carboni who was Valencia’s sporting director at the time, the club had reached an agreement with Ronaldo who wanted to part ways with United after his infamous confrontation with Rooney when England played Portugal in the 2006 World Cup quarter-final.
The infamous ‘Ronaldo wink’ had the potential, at the time, to see the English media and fans emulate their witch-hunt of David Beckham in 1998 towards the Portuguese star.
Speaking of how Valencia planned to pull off the audacious transfer, Carboni said: “I arrived at the right time. Valencia was the city that benefited the most from this economic, social and sports ‘boom’. We had found the economic resources to achieve it, we had arrangements with Nike and Cocacola. Ronaldo at that time was already earning 10 million net a year, it was a lot.”
More shockingly, Carboni went onto reveal just how close the deal came to be completed, he said: “We had the contracts signed by Jorge Mendes, nothing was missing between Ronaldo, his agent and me. However, the deal did not materialise.”
Ultimately, the deal did end up falling through and Ronaldo remained at United for another three years before eventually joining La Liga giants Real Madrid in 2009.
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