Football is full of stories about near-misses and fantasies concerning players who might have been signed by certain clubs.
Blackburn Rovers famously missed out on Zinedine Zidane in the 1990s, opting to sign Tim Sherwood instead, while Barcelona and Arsenal were potential destinations for Cristiano Ronaldo.
One enduring account about an almost-signing is that of Lionel Messi nearly joining Scottish outfit Rangers in the early 2000s.