When Cristiano Ronaldo insisted on leaving Manchester United for Spain, Alex Ferguson tried to get Barcelona involved in the bidding process to compete with Real Madrid.

Ronaldo went public with his interest in Real Madrid, which put pressure on United to sell him.

“I know that Madrid are interested but I can’t talk about it,” said Ronaldo.

“We sell the players we want to sell and there’s absolutely no chance that Cristiano Ronaldo will leave,” said Ferguson in response.

When Ferguson realized he would have to sell Ronaldo, he reportedly said "anyone but Real Madrid" and made contact with Barcelona. By that time, Ronaldo had made up his mind that he wanted to join Real Madrid.