Cristiano Ronaldo's Failed Transfers to Liverpool, Barcelona, Arsenal Explained

Cristiano Ronaldo's career may have taken on a very different course after it was revealed just how close he came to joining the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal and Barcelona in 2003.

The Real Madrid phenomenon went on to complete a transfer to Manchester United from Sporting Lisbon, but in a passage from his new book, Cristiano Ronaldo: The Biography, Guillem Balague explained Liverpool had agreed an €8 million fee for the player (via Telegraph).

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Ronaldo's agent Jorge Mendes made the rounds and met up with some of Europe's biggest outfits in the summer of 2003, and it's a revelation the Merseysiders were ever that close to signing one who would go on to star for their fiercest rivals.

It proved to be the transfer that put Mendes on the map as a superpower of the sport. Earlier this year, Forbes revealed how influential a character the Portuguese has since become, per CNN:

However, Balague went on to proclaim it was Arsenal who appeared closest to disrupting United's plans. Mendes is even quoted, stating: “There was a time when I really thought he was going to Arsenal."

Chief scout Steve Rowley did his part in gauging Ronaldo's interest with a trip to Lisbon before the then-17-year-old travelled to London for meetings with manager Arsene Wenger and club legend Thierry Henry.

Clearly aware of the value Ronaldo's next move would pose, however, Mendes was eager to keep the fate of his client a secret from prying eyes, and the forward, now 30, regaled:

“We were in a car and Jorge kept calling me to reiterate I had to make sure nobody saw me. We stopped at a service station and I had to have my face covered. Jorge was calling me every five minutes: ‘Be careful, be careful around people!’”

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Balague suggested Ronaldo "fell in love with the north Londoners," which is sure to strike as a cruel blow to Gunners fans who would love nothing more than for their current team to have a recognised world-class attacker of his calibre.

But funding proved to be Arsenal's downfall, and while they struggled to match their rivals following the construction of the Emirates Stadium, United had cash and the offer of a 2003-04 pre-season friendly against Sporting.

It's not long since Ronaldo broke Real Madrid's all-time goalscoring record. Despite SportsCenter attesting to his prolific nature in Spain, there may always be questions as to what he could have accomplished had he remained in England beyond 2009:

Mendes also had Ricardo Quaresma and Deco on his books at the time, but the Catalan giants opted to sign the former—two years older—and could only agree a "preferential pre-contract" for Ronaldo. United made them pay for their negligence.

Ronaldo emerged from the Sporting academy as a young teenager and was known to be the centre of much attention at the time, but only now are we discovering just how close the superstar came to a very different route.