‘So Near, Yet So Far’ But No Regrets To Join Barca As Brazil Great Ronaldinho Says He Was Very Close For Man United Move

Brazil football great Ronaldinho has revealed he was “very close” to joining Manchester United instead of Barcelona.

Ronaldinho was pursued by the English Premier League club but eventually signed with the Blaugrana from Paris Saint-Germain for a reported fee of 30 million euros.

“When I was leaving PSG and before I came to Barcelona I had that chance [to join United] – and I was very close,” Ronaldinho was quoted as saying by Gazeta Esportiva.

“United are a big club and any player would like to play for a big club, but I think I chose the correct league and the correct club [Barcelona].

“I have no regrets. I achieved my goals,” said Ronaldinho, a World Cup winner with Brazil in 2002. “There are a lot of clubs where any player would like to play so it’s difficult to pick just one. In every country there are two, three or four big teams and any player would love to be there.

“I had the chance to play for a lot of different teams in the Premier League, but I think all the choices I made were the right ones.”

Ronaldinho enjoyed the most successful years of his career at Barcelona, winning back-to-back FIFA world player of the year awards and a Champions League trophy before his 2008 move to AC Milan.