Ex-Man United player Kleberson reveals how Ronaldinho asked him about moving to Old Trafford before Barcelona transfer swoop
Ex-Man United player Kleberson reveals how Ronaldinho asked him about moving to Old Trafford before Barcelona transfer swoop
Ronaldinho was heavily linked with Manchester United in 2003 and even asked an old pal about the club.
When World Cup winner Kleberson signed for the Red Devils, his dreams of becoming one of their best-ever players failed to become reality.
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Kleberson did join Man United, signing in the same summer as Cristiano Ronaldo, but struggled at Old TraffordHowever, things could have been different had his conversations with Ronaldinho been actioned.
“I talked to Ronaldinho a lot about Manchester United at that time,” Kleberson told The Athletic.
“I remember him saying to me, ‘They want to sign us, what do you think?’
“I was saying, ‘Yeah, I’m going! Manchester United? Very nice, That’s a big club’.
“After that, I never spoke to him about it anymore. I don’t know why he decided against it.
“But for me, it would have been easier if Ronaldinho had been there. We were big friends and had played together at the World Cup.”
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Kleberson and Ronaldinho are good pals
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But Ronaldinho signed for Barcelona insteadUnited were very much in the race for Ronaldinho after the Brazilian made it clear to Paris Saint-Germain that he wanted to leave in the summer of 2003.
This was before Qatar Sports Investments took over the French club in 2011. Ronaldinho’s final season at PSG saw them finish 11th in Ligue 1 while Ronaldinho was desperate for European football.
He could’ve replaced David Beckham, who had just signed for Real Madrid, but that transfer would end up costing Man United the PSG ace.
That is because Joan Laporta had just won the Barcelona presidential election off the back of a promise to buy either Beckham, Ronaldinho or Thierry Henry.
Henry was not leaving Arsenal, Beckham had agreed to move to Madrid instead, leaving just Ronaldinho, who Barca outbid United for and landed the attacking midfielder for €30million (around £26.7m) where he would become a club legend.
How he would have got on at Old Trafford will never be known but Kleberson’s struggles in his two seasons at the club are well-known.
Across his time at United, Kleberson, who helped Brazil to their most recent World Cup triumph in 2002, made just 20 appearances in the Premier League.
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