Sir Alex Ferguson had a plan in summer 2013. He wanted to bring back Cristiano Ronaldo, who had left for Real Madrid four years earlier, and sign Gareth Bale.
That is what Patrice Evra said in a Man Utd podcast. The Frenchman explained that even CR7 had said yes to the idea, but Ferguson surprisingly retired shortly afterwards.
"One of the most difficult moments for me was when Ferguson retired. Two weeks earlier, the media said that he was going to retire in a year, so I asked him," the Frenchman explained.
"He said to me: 'Patrick, I'll never retire, I will be here another ten years. I'm 99% sure we'll have Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale. I only need those two players to win the Champions League again,. And then, two weeks later, he announced his retirement," Evra continued.
The full back revealed that even afterwards, after speaking to the Portuguese player, Cristiano Ronaldo told him that he had agreed to return: "I asked him and he said 'yes', that he had said 'yes' to the boss and that he would come back to United."