Ronaldo Almost Signed For Valencia In 2006
According to England based media outlet The Sun, former Manchester United player and current Real Madrid legend Cristiano Ronaldo almost ended up signing for Valencia in the aftermath of the 2006 World Cup.
The incident occurred during the Portugal vs England match in the 2006 World Cup. Rooney was dismissed after a 62nd minute foul on Ricardo Carvalho and a confrontation with club teammate Cristiano Ronaldo.
Rooney was battling to keep possession from three Portugal defenders when the trouble erupted.
He seemed to be pulled back by Carvalho, and then trod on his opponent’s groin as the former Chelsea defender was on the floor trying to win the ball.
Carvalho reacted dramatically and Ronaldo sprinted to the referee, apparently to demand a red card.
Rooney turned to Ronaldo and pushed him away.
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Portugal won that match and Ronaldo became the most hated person in England. When he returned to England to play for Manchester United, he was booed by the English fans who were angry after he got their star Wayne Rooney sent off in an important game.
At the age of 21, he wasn’t an established player at Manchester United, and was prepared to leave the country.
He was on the verge of joining Valencia – who were among the top 3 clubs in Spain after Barcelona and Real Madrid back then – and had even agreed personal terms with the club, according to reports. And as per the local paper Super Deporte, the club had almost finalised the deal and were just waiting to make it official.
But the then Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson somehow ended up convincing the 21 year old Cristiano Ronaldo to stay at the club.
His decision payed off, as Ronaldo went on to establish himself as an important player for the club and won the Ballon d’Or in his last season at the club.
