Arsene Wenger has confessed that he once had the chance to sign Angel Di Maria… for NOTHING.
The Manchester United midfielder was identified by Wenger as a 17-year-old, but ended up going to Portugal and playing for Benfica instead. Now he's worth £59.7m and playing for The Gunners' biggest rivals of the Premier League era.
Ouch.
In fairness to Wenger, it was work permit issues which scuppered their move for the teenage Di Maria. But the Gunners do have a track record of letting top players slip through their fingers.
Just check out this team of players who oh-so-NEARLY signed for the red half of North London:
Gianluigi Buffon
The Italian legend was linked with a move to north London after declaring his desire to join the club if Juventus were to show him the door. A deal never materialised and the Gooners were stuck with Manuel Almunia.
Gerard Pique
It's reported the Barcelona defender was a failed work-permit away from joining the Gooners with fellow Spaniard Cesc Fabregas. Arsenal signed young defender Philippe Senderos instead. Smart.
Vincent Kompany
The two-time Premier League winner was almost signed by Arsenal as a youngster from boyhood club Anderlecht. Wenger was keen to find a long-term replacement for Sol Campbell but wasn't keen on the £5million transfer fee. FYI, Johan Djourou made 30 appearances that season.
Roberto Carlos
The Brazilian legend revealed that joining the Gooners would be a 'dream', claiming that he wanted a move to the Emirates once his contract at Real Madrid had expired - he signed for Turkish side Fenerbahçe instead. Fortunately, the Arsenal faithful were later treated to the man dubbed the 'new Roberto Carlos'. You remember Andre Santos, right?
Cristiano Ronaldo
The story goes a young Ronaldo was shown around London Colney and given an Arsenal jersey with his name on the back. A £4million deal with Sporting Lisbon was agreed, only for Sporting to host Manchester United in a friendly. Ronaldo tore the United defence apart, Sir Alex Ferguson was impressed… and Arsenal never got their man.
Yaya Toure
He was on the club's radar from a early age only to be declined a work-permit in 2003. Despite featuring in a friendly against Barnet, securing a permit proved tricky work for Arsenal and Wenger's patience eventually ran out. As it has done many times against Man City in recent years.
Xabi Alonso
With Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez hoping to lure Gareth Barry to Merseyside, Alonso's feared his Liverpool career was over, Alonso headed to London hoping to secure a £15million transfer. The Barry move apparently fell through… and Mikel Arteta now plays for Arsenal.
Angel Di Maria
Arsenal fans knew their club could never have matched the £59.7m Man United spent on the Argentinian midfielder. Still, even The Gunners could have scraped together the price of the plane ticket that would have been needed to bring him to north London when he was 17. Pesky work permits, eh?
Lionel Messi
According to Spanish football expert Guillem Balague, Gunners scouts not only identified the 15 year-old Argentine alongside Barca rising stars Fabregas and Pique - they even offered him a contract. Needless to say, it didn't pan out. Stop laughing, Spurs fans.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Zlatan was on the verge of a £3million move from Malmo, back when he was 19. All was going to plan until Wenger asked him to play in a trial match. The Swede replied with: "Zlatan doesn't do auditions.'' Arsenal signed current West Ham full-back Guy Demel instead - back in the days when he thought he was a striker.
Didier Drogba
Wenger claims that he could have signed the Ivorian for as little as £100,000 way back his Le Mans days. After watching the Chelsea hero on numerous occasions, the Arsenal manager didn't feel Drogba was ready for a club of Arsenal's stature. So that worked out well...
H/t: Mirror UK
