5 Famous players who you didn't know rejected a move to the Premier League

Premier League, arguably the most competitive league in the league, has been attracting talents from all over the world in recent years. And with the influx of cash in the coffers of the clubs, it will remain a top destination for many players for years to come.

But not every player fancies the prospect of playing in England. For whatever reason it might be, Premier League never got to see legends like Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, Zidane, Figo in action.

The reasons for some of the biggest players of their times to prefer Italy and Spain over PL include the physical style of play, grueling fixture calendars and lack of European success.

But in the present scenario, it is difficult for any player to turn down the financial incentives that signing up for a Premier League club brings in. For some players though, the incentives are just not enough and playing in the PL just didn't excite them and they turned down big money moves to England.

So, without further ado, let's take a look at the 5 of the biggest players who had rejected offers from the Premier League clubs.

#5 Kaka

Kaka, the last player to win the Ballon d'Or before the Ronaldo-Messi era was one of the top targets of a Premier League club, as he revealed in a FourFourTwo interview.

In the post, he mentions that the negotiations for securing his move to England were almost in the final stages, with AC Milan ready to accept the bid from Manchester City back in 2009.

To illustrate, in 2009 AC Milan was one of the biggest clubs in Europe and Kaka was their talisman and in his prime. And the Sky Blues had been infused with money from their new owners and made an audacious £100 million bid for the Brazilian.

But he rejected their ridiculous offer in order to stay at the biggest club of that time eventually left for Real Madrid that summer.

#4 Gonzalo Higuain

Higuain joined AC Milan this summer. (Image: Marca)

The former Real Madrid and Napoli striker decided to move to Milan from Turin this summer despite strong interest from Premier League giants Chelsea.

As reported by Calciomercato in July, the Blues made an offer of Alvaro Morata plus €55 million for Juventus double Gonzalo Higuain and Mattia Caldara. But the move didn't materialize as Higuain was reluctant to move to London.

After securing a move to AC Milan, he revealed at the press conference unveiling his move that:

"I have huge respect for Sarri, but he was the only one who wanted me at Chelsea."

"Here at Milan everyone wanted me. The motivation and conviction they showed at Milan was fundamental."

#3 Gianluigi Buffon

Buffon kisses the FIFA World Cup Trophy after Italy's win in 2006. (Image: Vox)

One of the best goalkeepers of generation, Gianluigi Buffon was very satisfied in Italy and had rejected lucrative offers from not one but three PL giants.

The Italian legend had been ever-present in the Juventus ever since he joined them back in 2001. The only blemish in the illustrious career of Buffon was his inability to win the Champions League, which is still within his grasps given his new club PSG finds the recipe for success in Europe.

He was one of the most loyal modern day footballers and never considered leaving Juventus, even when the biggest Premier League clubs tried to woo him in. As quoted by The Mirror, he said:

"From what I know, there have been three serious times when English clubs made an approach for me.

"Two of them were when I was a young player at Parma, and I know Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger asked about me - and then, when Manchester City was taken over, I know they approached Juventus."

#2 Paolo Maldini

Paolo Maldini, retired as an AC Milan legend having spent his entire career with the Rossoneri.

In his illustrious career, he won a staggering 25 major titles with Milan, which included 5 Champions League and 7 Serie A titles. Because of his performances, he was approached by three different Premier League clubs in his career.

But nothing could separate this legend from his childhood club. And even when the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson came calling, leaving his beloved club and city was never an option.

He opened up about these transfer links in an interview with Sky Sports Italia, where he said:

"I was born in Milan, for me it was the best to play in Milan,"

"I was very lucky because the goals of the team were my goals: we were both very ambitious."

"We found ourselves perfectly. It was a good ride, between highs and lows. The English arrived in those lows."

"Ferguson? Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal. But going away at times is not possible."

#1 Ronaldinho

Ronaldinho won the Ballon d'Or with Barcelona.

Ronaldinho had become a sensation after helping secure the record fifth World Cup title for Brazil in 2002. At that time he was playing for Paris St-Germain and it was just a matter of time before he would move onto a bigger stage.

And he found himself on top of Sir Alex Ferguson's wanted list in 2003, when Beckham left Old Trafford. The deal was in the final stages, with the Paris based club having accepted the £30 million bid for the Brazilian.

In a recent interview with FourFourTwo, he accepted that he almost became a Manchester United player, before Barcelona quickly swooped in to persuaded him to move to Spain. This is what he said about the transfer deal in the interview:

"It almost happened. It was a matter of 48 hours but Sandro Rosell had told me way before I got the offer: "If I become Barca president, will you come?" I said yes"

"It was only a matter of details with United when Rosell called to say he was going to win the elections there. And I had promised to him that I'd play for Barca. It was a quick negotiation."

And rejecting a move to Premier League would turn out to be a great decision as he would go on to win the Champions League, Ballon d'Or and FIFA Best Player award twice with the Blaugrana.

Edited by Abhinav Munshi