Charlton, along with Manchester United and Arsenal, watched Cristiano Ronaldo before his famous move to the Premier League.
Addicks fans dug up an old report from 2002 on social media this month and confirmed it to The Pitch Prospect, leaving viewers wondering what might have happened.
6
6
Charlton, currently fighting their way out of League One under former Luton head coach Nathan Jones, were once a fixture in the Premier League, first being promoted in 1998 and again in 2000.
The South Londoners even fought for Europe in 2004 under club legend Alan Curbishley. However, in 2007 they fell into the relegation round and have since reminisced about their time in the top division.
But during their time competing with the best of the best, the Addicks have sat on a par with some of the country’s biggest clubs when it comes to scouting the world’s most promising talent.
MORE ABOUT CRISTIANO RONALDO
And what most fans didn’t know: This also included the hunt for Ronaldo.
In 2002, the Portuguese attacker was an awkward teenager playing for Sporting Lisbon and representing his country at under-21 level.
But even though Ronaldo was still at the very beginning of what would become one of the most successful football careers in the history of the sport, his skills caught the attention of football greats.
This of course also included his future club, Manchester United.
However, Sir Alex Ferguson and Co. had potential competition – and it didn’t just come from Premier League opponents Arsenal.
Instead, it was Charlton, the Gunners’ London rivals, who were there to watch Ronaldo play for Portugal’s Under-21 team against Greece in November 2002.
At the time, Sky Sports reported that Man United were looking to use a proposed new partnership with Sporting to lure Ronaldo and fellow impressive winger and Portuguese rising star Ricardo Quaresma to Old Trafford.
6
6
However, they also stated that the Addicks, who finished 12th in the Premier League this season, also saw the duo in action against Greece and in Sporting’s game against Moreirense.
According to the report, the performances of Ronaldo and Quaresma left Charlton’s scouts mouth-watering.
The representative present was Addicks’ overseas coordinator Jeff Vetere, a former Luton youth player who later worked for Real Madrid.
Scouts from Celta Vigo, Chievo, Lens, Parma and Feyenoord were also present.
However, the targets identified by Charlton in this game were unclear.
After all, the Addicks were competing with a club that had won four of the last five Premier League titles.
Former loanee Jorge Costa played in defence for Porto, but was not expected to return to The Valley.
However, it is likely that the Addicks – who have a history of producing and developing young players – would have been impressed by Ronaldo and his teammate.
Arsenal had been keeping an eye on the Portuguese winger and were close to signing the then 18-year-old in the summer of 2003.
Arsene Wenger and David Dein, the former vice-chairman of Arsenal FC, were keen to make the move happen.
However, in August 2003, Ronaldo signed with rivals Manchester United.
6
“We have been negotiating about Cristiano for some time,” Ferguson said at the time, according to 90Min. “But interest in him from other clubs has increased in recent weeks, so we had to act quickly to get him.”
Ronaldo subsequently played twice for Manchester United and made a total of 346 appearances for the club, scoring 145 goals and providing 64 assists.
During his first spell with the Red Devils, he won three Premier League titles, one Champions League, one FA Cup, two League Cups, one Club World Cup and one Community Shield.
Ronaldo played against Arsenal and Charlton numerous times during this time, scoring nine goals against the Gunners and one goal against the Addicks in his career.
6
The Madeira-born star was sold to Spanish top team Real Madrid in 2009 for what was then a world record transfer fee of £80 million.
He has won five Champions League titles, two Spanish titles and two Serie A titles with Juventus and has won the Ballon d’Or five times, in addition to his total of 33 trophies.
Ronaldo, now 39, is in the late stages of his career at Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League.
What could Charlton fans have been, hey?