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Ronaldo Career Statistics (as of July 26, 2024)
Sporting Lisbon (2002-03): 31 games – 5 goals
manchester United (2003-09 & 2021-22): 346 games – 145 goals
Real Madrid (2009-18): 438 games – 450 goals
Juventus (2018-2021): 134 games – 101 goals
Al Nassr (2023-Present): 111 games – 99 goals
Breaking: Arsรจne Wenger,the former Arsenal manager,has publicly reiterated his long-held regret over missing out on signing Cristiano Ronaldo in 2003,revealing details of advanced negotiations that ultimately fell through due to Manchester United‘s intervention.
The revelation resurfaced following Ronaldo’s recent goal in a friendly match for Al-Nassr against Toulouse on July 22, 2024, at the King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a game Al-Nassr won 2-1. This goal came 22 years after his initial stint with the club.
Wenger, during his 22-year tenure at Arsenal (1996-2018), consistently built teams around technical brilliance and attacking flair. He identified Ronaldo, then a promising 18-year-old at sporting Lisbon, as a key target to bolster Arsenal’s forward line. Negotiations progressed to the point where Ronaldo even visited Arsenal’s training ground in London Colney and was pictured with his mother, Dolores Aveiro, and Wenger himself.
However, the deal was scuppered by Manchester United’s swift action. United, under the management of Sir Alex Ferguson, appointed Carlos Queiroz, the then-Portugal national team coach, as an assistant manager – a move specifically designed to influence ronaldo’s decision. Queiroz, having worked closely with Ronaldo at the international level, played a pivotal role in convincing him to join United.
“We had an agreement with Sporting, and Man United took Carlos Queiroz as assistant coach, and they just outbid us quickly and took Ronaldo,” Wenger explained in a 2020 interview with The