Former Tottenham Hotspur star Ronny Rosenthal has revealed that he recommended signing Cristiano Ronaldo to the north London club just after he made his debut at Sporting Lisbon.
Manchester United snapped up the young winger from Sporting Lisbon in 2003 after he impressed Sir Alex Ferguson and several Red Devils stars in a pre-season friendly that summer.
Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has admitted to missing out on signing the Portuguese after Manchester United moved quickly to take him to Old Trafford, while Liverpool also tracked him.
But the Gunners were not the only north London club who were alerted to Ronaldo as Rosenthal revealed that he recommended the player to a number of clubs, including his former side Tottenham after he scouted him.
The former Tottenham star told The Athletic: “Ronaldo made his debut for Sporting Lisbon in August 2002, and I started watching him a month or so after that.
“I recommended him to Arsenal, Tottenham and others.
“But they didn’t follow it up.”
Ronaldo went on to win three Premier League titles and a Champions League before leaving Manchester United for Real Madrid in 2009.
He now plies his trade in Italy at Juventus.
