Agent says he ‘did a deal’ for Chelsea to sign Ballon d’Or winner, but it fell apart
Chelsea have had plenty of all-time great players, but an almost-deal that didn’t work out would have taken the cake.
Just last week, we discovered that Luka Modric wanted a Chelsea move twice in his career.
He would go on to become Real Madrid’s most decorated player instead, winning a Ballon d’Or while playing at the Bernabeu.
But a teammate from his time in the Spanish capital who had an even greater career could have ended up at Stamford Bridge more than 20 years ago.
Agent Barry Silkman on Cristiano Ronaldo almost joining Chelsea
Yes, you’re reading that right.
Back in 2003, when Cristiano Ronaldo was just another promising young talent impressing in Europe, Chelsea had the chance to bring him to West London for what now obviously looks like an absolute steal.
Barry Silkman is a former Man City player turned agent, who has been in the transfer game since the 90s.
Sitting down for an interview with The Telegraph, Silkman revealed that Chelsea opted not to sign Ronaldo from Sporting Lisbon for just £3 million.
He recalls: “I did a deal with [Ronaldo’s agent] Jorge Mendes. But Chelsea said no. Cristiano Ronaldo was €3.5m.”
Missing out on Modric is one thing, but wasting the chance to sign one of the greatest to ever play the game — at 18 years of age — is a different level of regret entirely.
Ronaldo would go to Old Trafford instead and the rest, as they say, is history.
Who is Chelsea’s best ever player?
Chelsea under BlueCo would not make that mistake
Whatever you want to say about Chelsea’s new owners and how they go about transfers, you can’t deny that their youth-based strategy has yielded great results.
If an 18-year-old Ronaldo was on the table now, the Blues would have him locked down to a multi-year deal already.
That’s what they did with Estevao Willian, who has Ballon d’Or-level talent.
Similarly, Chelsea have signed Sporting’s current wonderkid Geovany Quenda.
Football can often be a torturous game of what could have been, and this is as extreme an example as you will find. Despite spending just six seasons with United, Ronaldo is widely considered their best-ever player, or at least the most talented.
If he had joined Chelsea, it’s hard to imagine the five-time Ballon d’Or winner having any less of an impact.
from Chelsea FC Latest News & Club Updates | The Chelsea Chronicle https://ift.tt/PXlKLzA
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