Why didn’t Beckham choose Barcelona? Ronaldinho was supposedly too ugly for Real Madrid

Manchester United were about to sell David Beckham in 2003. The Red Devils already had a preliminary agreement with Barcelona. In addition, they met with the player to negotiate personal terms. However, the English midfielder had already been agreed with Real Madrid. Because of this, the Catalan big club finally decided to bring Ronaldinho.

In his interview, former and re-elected FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta said that in 2003 he was within reach of acquiring David Beckham. The management of the Catalan club knew about the incident of Beckham and his coach Alex Ferguson.

After learning of the effort to sell him, their next step was to make a deal with Manchester United specifically. “It was quite easy. However, we had a non-disclosure agreement. Both parties were not to talk about it,” Joan Laporta told Barcabuzz at the start of the story.

However, the next day at a press conference, the club president was asked by a journalist about a possible deal with Beckham. He nevertheless confirmed it. “It was a mistake because it happened before we spoke to the player’s agent. I subsequently headed to Nice where we spoke to them. They said Real Madrid also wanted him, but we thought they said it to increase the price,” he continued.

However, by that time the player himself was almost done with Real Madrid. “We gave him photos of Barcelona, Gaudi souvenirs and other items to make him feel good,” explained Joan Laporta about the efforts to get the England international, who eventually joined Los Blancos.

The Catalans then shifted their attention to Ronaldinho, who was playing for Paris Saint-Germain at the time. “Fortunately for us, Ronaldinho was too ugly for Real Madrid (laughs).

So when we wanted to sign him, Madrid didn’t try to stop us,” Laporta explained the arrival of the Brazilian wizard, who made his mark as one of the most important transfers of his era. Ronaldinho eventually helped Barcelona get back to the top after winning the Champions League in 2006.

Source: Tribuna