The details behind Cristiano Ronaldo's move to Manchester United in 2003 have been revealed by a former Sporting director of football, with Parma named as a surprise team who showed huge interest in the young Portuguese star in the making.
After breaking through at Sporting as a 17-year-old during the 2002/03 season, Ronaldo's representatives quickly started speaking with clubs such as Liverpool and Barcelona, with Arsenal emerging as the most-interested party. But while the Gunners never made a formal approach for Ronaldo, Italian side Parma did.
Having finished fifth in Serie A and with exciting talents such as Alberto Gilardino and Adriano within the side, Parma wanted Ronaldo to be the man to replace Adrian Mutu, who left in the summer of 2003. They were ultimately outbid by Manchester United, though, with the Red Devils paying £12m.
Cristiano Ronaldo was wanted by Parma - but Manchester United blew them out the water
“He’d been introduced to me by the academy’s technical coordinator as the best 15-year-old forward in the world," ex-Sporting director of football Carlos Freitas exclusively tells FourFourTwo. "Arsenal were among the first to approach him – David Dein came to Lisbon to watch him in a game at the old Alvalade stadium.
"Arsene Wenger had received strong recommendations from [Sporting boss] Laszlo Boloni, the two having previously spent some time together at Nancy.
“No formal discussions took place with them, unlike Parma – they saw Cristiano as the perfect replacement for Adrian Mutu, who’d left to sign for Chelsea. But Manchester United’s interest was much more concrete. Initially, they proposed a deal where Cristiano would remain in Portugal for another year.”
However, Ronaldo dazzled in a friendly against Manchester United to officially open Sporting’s new Alvalade stadium, and the rest was history.
“Everything changed during that match,” Freitas recounts. “Within 24 hours, the deal was complete and Cristiano was heading off to England immediately.”
More than two decades have passed since, and the rest, as they say, is history.
“When you consider that this all happened in 2003, and we’re now in 2025, it’s astonishing,” Freitas laughs. “No one could have predicted just how far Cristiano would go or that he’d later become this global superstar. I certainly never imagined that at 40, he’d have the relevance he does in world football. That was impossible to foresee – not even the most visionary person could have predicted it.
“He’s still an important player for the Portuguese national team, remains a starter under Roberto Martinez and continues to score goals, both for his country and for his club in Saudi Arabia. I don’t see it as the conclusion of his career, given his hunger to achieve more and more."
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