I almost choked on my food when I found out what Cristiano Ronaldo had done to Liverpool

Manchester United were on the verge of losing out to bitter rivals Liverpool before the club swooped to sign Cristiano Ronaldo in 2003.

It was a move that left Gerard Houllier almost choking on his food as news about the transfer began circulating. Ronaldo had developed a glowing reputation at Sporting CP and United's Merseyside foes believed they had fought off competition from Barcelona, Juventus and Arsenal for the 18-year-old winger.

Instead, Ronaldo joined United for £12.2million and repaid Sir Alex Ferguson's faith in him by helping the club win three Premier League titles and the Champions League during his first stint at Old Trafford., eventually making an emotional return for a short spell in 2021. However, none of that was seemingly on the cards when Liverpool's then-assistant coach, Phil Thompson, left his meeting with Ronaldo's representative Tony Henry in Lisbon, convinced his club had a deal in place to sign the tricky winger.

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"I can still remember Tony's exact words. It was all very nice and relaxed," Thompson recalled to The Athletic. "It's £4million and it can be paid over the four years of his contract, so £1 million a year. That seemed very reasonable. Then I asked about the salary and Tony told me it was £1 million a year, net."

Thompson harboured some doubts about Ronaldo's salary expectations, yet the former Sky Sports pundit understood the youngster's potential. Although personal terms were yet to be ironed out, Thompson left Lisbon with the impression that his club had secured a