Arsene Wenger, who has been at the helm of Arsenal for nearly two decades since taking over in 1996, has seen quite a few talented players come and go during his time with the Premier League powerhouse.
Yet, he has also had the unfortunate experience of letting a few highly skilled talents slip through his fingers, with players like PSG's Zlatan Ibrahimovic and iconic Chelsea striker Didier Drogba coming to mind.
However, regarding the two aforementioned players, the French tactician has publicly expressed his shock at Ibrahimovic refusing a trilan while admitting that he truly regretted not snatching up the Ivory Coast's all-time top scorer when he had the chance.
Drogba, pictured celebrating one of his many goals against Arsenal, could have been a Gunner instead
And it gets even more interesting when he revealed his "biggest regret" ever of his managerial career. No, not so far failing to win a Champions League trophy, but missing out on Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo back in 2003.
"My biggest regret [is that] I was so close to signing Cristiano Ronaldo. And, not only did I not get him but also he signed for Manchester United, so that of course still hurts today," he recently admitted in an interview with the team's smartphone sponsor.
So close: Cristiano Ronaldo, pictured here while at Sporting, went on to sign for Man Utd and the rest is history
But just how close was he? Well, according to an interview with Arsenal's official website:
"I had [Cristiano] Ronaldo at the training ground, showed him around and I gave him a shirt [that] had his name on the back.
“But in the end it was a question of the amount of transfer fee between the two clubs."
Had Wenger been willing to pay Sporting Lisbon a bit over £12 million, they could have had the 2-time Ballon d'Or winner
Interestingly, CR7 himself revealed in an interview before signing for Manchester United his admiration for a certain Arsenal ace by the name of Thierry Henry as well as then Real Madrid star Ronaldo:
"Both [Ronaldo] and Thierry Henry are, in my opinion, the best footballers in the world. I don't even dare to compare myself to them," he enthused in one of his first official interviews as a professional football player.
