Arsenal are famed for their near misses in the transfer market with many world-class stars nearly joining over the years, even including Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Gunners were firmly in the mix to bring Ronaldo to Highbury before the Portugal legend opted to join Manchester United in 2003. Messi, too, nearly laced his boots in north London that year as Arsene Wenger eyed a double raid on Barcelona while he signed Cesc Fabregas.
Just one question also stopped Arsenal from signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic aged 17, despite the Sweden icon posing in their No9 shirt. The attacker was primed to sign from Malmo FF until Wenger put a spanner in the works. But it was not always Arsenal’s fault moves fell through.
Ronald de Boer agreed Arsenal transfer with Arsene Wenger before Ajax pulled the plug
Netherlands great Ronald de Boer has revealed that ‘everything was sorted’ for him to move to Arsenal in 1998 until AFC Ajax pulled the plug on his transfer. The attacking midfielder had met Wenger and spoke with former Gunners vice-chairman David Dein to secure a deal, too.
De Boer was a long-term target of Wenger and Arsenal, who had submitted an £18m double bid in January 1997 looking to also get his brother Frank de Boer. His move was much closer in 1998, though, as Ronald felt he might never get the chance to sign for the Gunners again.
READ MORE: How much Arsenal paid to sign every first-team player in the transfer market
Wenger convinced De Boer about his project at Arsenal before the 1998 World Cup, only for Ajax to suddenly block the dream transfer once the midfielder excelled in France. It irritated the 1994/95 Champions League winner hugely and he, eventually, joined Barcelona in 1999.
“Yeah, I did speak with Arsene Wenger about joining Arsenal,” De Boer told FourFourTwo in 2019. “That was before the 1998 World Cup. He called me to ask if we could meet so that he could explain his ideas in person.
“We met at the Okura Hotel in Amsterdam. He said I could be an important player for his Arsenal team and he demonstrated what my role could be. He was keen to sign me and I was happy to join. I felt like this kind of opportunity might not come again.
“Everything would be finalised after the World Cup. I remember speaking to David Dein on the phone, discussing my salary and the duration of my contract. Everything was sorted. It was only down to Ajax and Arsenal to agree a transfer fee.
“But me and Frank played very well at the World Cup and Ajax suddenly said they didn’t want any of us to leave. They wanted to retain the core of the team. We both felt misled, so decided that we wanted to leave Ajax immediately.”
Ronald de Boer could have made the difference to Arsenal’s Premier League title bids
Wenger and Dein pushed hard for Arsenal to sign De Boer from Ajax in 1997 and 1998 only to fail. The midfielder had proven his skills in Amsterdam as a versatile threat and was vital for De Godenzonen’s Champions League title in 1994/95. He even won five Eredivisie titles.
READ MORE: Arsenal’s 25 most expensive transfers and record signings of all time
But while another title followed after his move to Barcelona, with De Boer winning La Liga in 1998/99, Camp Nou was not a happy home. The 67-cap Netherlands international was only in Catalunya to 2001 when he joined Rangers. But Wenger had big plans for him at Arsenal.
De Boer also missed out on helping Wenger build Arsenal’s trophy cabinet with the Gunners achieving a Premier League and FA Cup double in 1997/98. Had he joined, the club may also have sealed the top-flight title in 1998/99, 1999/2000 and 2000/01 as they finished second.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
