Man Utd Flop Reveals How Ronaldinho Betrayed Him Over Old Trafford Move

Infamous Manchester United flop Kleberson has claimed that he was convinced to make the move to the Red Devils by none-other than Ronaldinho - who assured Kleberson that he was also headed to Old Trafford.

Both players were key members of the Brazilian side which romped to victory during the 2002 World Cup and Kleberson went on to make the move from Atletico Paranaense for £6m a year later. His time at United was plagued by injuries and poor performances and he was sold to Besiktas in 2005 having made just 20 Premier League appearances.

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However, Kleberson has claimed that the move only came to fruition because his compatriot Ronaldinho insisted that he was making a move to Manchester and that Kleberson should join him.

"Ronaldinho told me he was going to Manchester," Kleberson told ESPN (via The Daily Mail). 

"He kept saying to me, 'Come to Manchester!' 

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"I wanted to go, but I was reluctant because I didn't speak English and United didn't have any Portuguese speakers. Ronaldinho persuaded me and I went to Manchester. But he didn't."

Ronaldinho claimed in an interview with FourFourTwo that he was 48 hours away from a move to Manchester, but he instead opted to sign for Barcelona, a move that ignited his meteoric rise to the pinnacle of world football, culminating in him winning the Ballon D'or in 2005 - the same year that Kleberson was sold to Besiktas.

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The pair both signed for European giants in 2003 but ended up taking entirely different career paths. Ronaldinho enjoyed a glittering career, with two La Liga titles and a Champions League medal to show for it. Kleberson returned to his native Brazil after two seasons with Besiktas before also spending some time in the USA.