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Liverpool rejected the opportunity to secure Cristiano Ronaldo's signature over fears regarding their salary framework.
The Portuguese superstar would subsequently forge a five-time Ballon d'Or-winning legacy at Manchester United and Real Madrid, with the 69th edition of the prestigious award scheduled to be presented on Monday evening.
In 2003, a youthful Ronaldo ranked amongst Europe's most coveted talents, having established a sparkling reputation at Sporting CP. Elite clubs pursued his services, with Sir Alex Ferguson's United ultimately securing the deal, acquiring Ronaldo for merely $16 million.
Come 2009, he departed Old Trafford for a then-record $108M fee, and more than 15 years on, Ronaldo stands as one of the finest soccer players ever to grace the sport. He has netted nearly 950 goals for Portugal and clubs including United, Real Madrid and Juventus, claimed numerous honours, and earned recognition as the world's premier player on five separate occasions.
Nevertheless, Ronaldo's illustrious journey might have followed a dramatically different path had United's fierce adversaries Liverpool succeeded in bringing him to the Premier League. The late former Reds boss Gerard Houllier confessed that such a transformative transfer was within reach, only to collapse due to wage-related issues.
"I saw him in the Toulon Under-21 tournament and we went for him," revealed Houllier, who managed at Anfield from 1998 through 2004 before passing away in 2020. "But we had a wage scale and we weren't paying the sort of salary he wanted.
"Then Manchester United played a friendly against Sporting Lisbon and all their boys said to Alex Ferguson, 'You have to sign him'. But I agreed with not breaking the wage structure. I thought it would cause problems in our dressing room.
"Maybe we would have won the title with Ronaldo, but we had Harry Kewell, who was outstanding at the time and was very hungry, but got a bad injury. After that, he never had the same confidence, the same appetite."
Houllier's assistant, Phil Thompson, also previously explained how the contracts of new French players Florent Sinama Pongolle and Anthony Le Tallec led them to hesitate at Ronaldo's demands, reports the Mirror.
"We had just signed Florent Sinama Pongolle and Anthony Le Tallec, both on far less than Ronaldo's aspirations," admitted Thompson. "And we would have had anarchy if the other players had found out how much we were considering paying for an 18-year-old kid. We looked for a compromise.
"Ten days later I was sitting in a lounge at Anfield having some lunch and looking at the big TV screen. Up came the news United had signed Ronaldo from Lisbon. Gerard and myself nearly choked on our food!".
The Reds have only ever had one Ballon d'Or winner: Michael Owen in 2001. Ronaldo won his first Ballon d'Or while he was strutting his stuff with United in 2008, and after his record $108M move, he added four more to his cabinet in Madrid in 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017.
Only Lionel Messi, an eight-time winner, has claimed the award more times than Ronaldo. Last year, it was Manchester City's Rodri who took home the accolade, with Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior finishing as runner-up.
This year, following Paris Saint-Germain's Champions League triumph, their star player Ousmane Dembele is tipped to be the frontrunner. Barcelona's Lamine Yamal and his team-mate Raphinha are also in the running.
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