“He was interested in the project” - Patrice Evra names 3 big clubs who were interested in signing Cristiano Ronaldo before Juventus switch

Manchester United legend Patrice Evra has claimed three top European clubs were interested in signing Cristiano Ronaldo before he joined Juventus in 2018. He shared that Arsenal, Chelsea, and Paris Saint-Germain were interested in signing the Portuguese superstar from Real Madrid.

Cristiano Ronaldo shockingly announced he was leaving Real Madrid in 2018 after a nine-year stint at the club. He became their all-time top scorer with 450 goals and completed a UEFA Champions League three-peat, among other achievements. He eventually joined Juventus for a reported €100 million.

Former Juventus and Manchester United left-back Patrice Evra, who's also friends with Ronaldo, recently said (via GOAL):

"Has Cristiano ever wanted to come to PSG? Yes. There was Paris, Arsenal... That was before he signed for Juventus (in 2018). He had Chelsea, Juventus, Paris. He said he would never go to Arsenal. He was interested in the (Parisian) project.

"You can criticize Cristiano, but he would have adapted. He would have made an effort. Look at what he is doing in Saudi Arabia. He is a Saudi!"

Cristiano Ronaldo spent three years at Juventus, scoring 101 goals and providing 22 assists in 134 games across competitions. He then returned to Manchester United in 2021 before eventually moving to Al-Nassr in December 2022.

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When Arsene Wenger spoke about how close Arsenal were to signing Cristiano Ronaldo

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner was also linked with Arsenal before he became a footballing great. During his time at Sporting CP, Cristiano Ronaldo was close to joining the Gunners before Manchester United swooped in to sign him in 2003. The then-Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said in an interview in 2022:

"We thought it was possible. If we had been a fraction quicker, a few days because we had agreed and then Manchester United came in 5 or 6 days later."

He also rued the missed chance of seeing Gunners legend Thierry Henry and Ronaldo playing together in another interview, saying:

"When I had Thierry, I could have signed [Cristiano] Ronaldo – can you imagine what they could have done together? That makes you sweat a little bit, and I was very close to doing it. I thought it was all done. It was that close [holding his index finger and thumb within a millimetre of each other]. But I would say that every club could tell you stories like that."

While he never played for them, Cristiano Ronaldo faced Arsenal 18 times during his career. He won nine, lost five, and drew four of those games, recording nine goals and two assists.