“Luckily for us, Ronaldinho was too ugly for Real Madrid" - When Joan Laporta confirmed Barcelona rejected the chance to sign Cristiano Ronaldo
In 2016, Barcelona president Joan Laporta recalled the events that led to them signing Ronaldinho instead of the future Real Madrid legend Cristiano Ronaldo in 2003. After four trophyless seasons, the Catalan club were rebuilding and in search of a marquee signing to mark Laporta's presidency.
The Catalan side were initially tipped to sign David Beckham from Manchester United but missed out on his services after Los Blancos entered the race for his signature. Laporta joked about missing out on the Englishman's signature, saying (via One Football):
“Luckily for us, Ronaldinho was too ugly for Real Madrid, so when we wanted to sign him, Madrid didn’t try to stop us.”
The Brazilian made 207 appearances for the Catalan side, scoring 94 and assisting 71 goals. He won the 2005 Ballon d'Or award and helped the team to two LaLiga crowns and a UEFA Champions League win.
Barcelona were also offered the chance to sign Ronaldo in the 2003 summer transfer window. The club president recalled being offered the Portuguese legend at the time, saying:
“We were in a process of reconstruction. Cristiano was at Sporting CP and he was close to signing for United. The player’s agent said, ‘I’ve got another really good player who’s called Cristiano Ronaldo'.”
The other players the Catalan side signed from the Portuguese legend's agency were winger Ricardo Quaresma and central defender Rafael Marquez. The pair made 28 and 242 appearances for the side, respectively.
Barcelona icon Ronaldinho wished he played with Real Madrid legend Cristiano Ronaldo
In 2023, Barcelona icon Ronaldinho expressed his desire to play alongside Real Madrid legend Cristiano Ronaldo. The Brazilian is loved universally for his exploits with the Catalan club, while the Portuguese star is the most prolific goalscorer in the Madrid-based giant's history,
The Brazilian only shared the pitch with his Portuguese counterpart twice, during his stint with AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League group stage of 2010/11. The games ended 2-0 and 2-2 in favor of Real Madrid, with Cristiano Ronaldo getting on the scoresheet in the first leg.
During an interview last year, Ronaldinho said he hoped to play alongside Cristiano Ronaldo someday, saying (via Essentially Sport):
“I played with Messi and Ronaldo. The person I did not play with is Cristiano, and I would like the opportunity to play with him.”
Ronaldo is currently the highest goalscorer in Real Madrid's history, with 450 goals from 438 games. At 39 years old, he has 910 career goals to his name. On the other hand, the Barcelona icon is retired but often participates in friendly exhibition matches and will be keen to convince the five-time Ballon d'Or winner to join him in one in the future.