Arsenal narrowly missed out on signing a teenage Cristiano Ronaldo due to financial restraints, according to former scout Damien Comolli.
Comolli claims to have discovered Ronaldo's formidable talent as early as 2000, when he saw the 15-year-old playing Japan at a youth tournament in France. At that time, no other Premier League club was interested, leaving the Gunners with a seemingly clear route to sign him.
However, Arsene Wenger failed to find the sufficient funds to meet Sporting Lisbon's asking price and the transfer ultimately collapsed.
Cristiano Ronaldo playing Manchester United in 2003 - when Alex Ferguson discovered him
'The first time I saw Ronaldo was at the Montaigu tournament.