Patrice Evra revealed Manchester United came close to signing Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale from Real Madrid in 2013.
The former Manchester United captain sat down with John Obi Mikel and Chris McHardy on The Obi One Podcast to talk about his career with the Red Devils, relationship with Sir Alex Ferguson and more. Evra also told a surprising story that linked Ronaldo and Bale to United before Ferguson retired.
"Two weeks before [Ferguson's retirement] he brought me to his office and said, 'Patrice, look at those people. They think I'm going to retire. I'm going to be [at United] another 10 years, but we need to win more Champions Leagues.'"
The boss continued, "'Patrice, Cristiano Ronaldo agreed 99% to come back and Gareth Bale.'" Evra went on to explain, "[Ferguson] needed £200m and the club refused. And now, they spent a billion or whatever."
The Frenchman recalled thinking, "Cristiano is back, Gareth Bale. We're back in business."
The deal never went through and Ferguson wound up retiring at the end of the 2012–13 season. The campaign marked the last time United topped the Premier League. Evra only stayed at the club for one more year before transferring to Juventus in 2014.
Ronaldo, meanwhile, did not return to his former club and instead remained at Real Madrid. He welcomed Bale to Spain from Tottenham Hotspur in 2013. The former Wales captain set a then record transfer fee of £85.3 million ($132.9 million).
The two stars went on to win four Champions League titles together with Los Blancos; Bale also won his fifth UCL with the club in 2022. They also won a Liga Liga title and the Copa del Rey during their shared time in Madrid.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Patrice Evra Says Man Utd Nearly Signed Real Madrid's Star Duo in 2013.
