Arsenal fans bored of Arsene Wenger as he once again claims he ALMOST signed Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi
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ARSENE WENGER has once again frustrated Arsenal fans with a claim that he almost signed Cristiano Ronaldo and tried to sign Lionel Messi.
The 70-year-old is notorious for his audacious claims over players he "nearly" brought to North London.
THE XI OF PLAYERS ARSENAL 'COULD' HAVE SIGNED
Goalkeeper - Gianluigi Buffon
Juventus icon came close to joining the Gunners in 2011.
Defender - Gerard Pique
Arsene Wenger wanted to bring La Masia product Pique to North London at the same time as Cesc Fabregas, and was incredibly close to doing so before a failed work permit scuppered the deal.
Defender - Virgil Van Dijk
Emirates side blew the chance to sign Prem's best defender because they thought he was "too nonchalant", according to ex-Celtic assistant manager John Collins.
Defender - Raphael Varane
“He was at Lens, and we might well have caught him there,” said Wenger in 2013.
Midfielder - N'Golo Kante
Arsenal looked into a move for energetic midfielder before Leicester snapped him up for just £5.6m in August 2015.
Midfielder - Paul Pogba
Wenger said in 2014: "We were interested in him. We tried to get him to come here, but he very quickly signed for Juventus."
Winger - Cristiano Ronaldo
Ronaldo had been shown around Arsenal’s London Colney training complex, while a £4million deal was agreed for the 18-year-old.
But after the skillful youngster gave the United defence the run-around in a friendly against Sporting Lisbon, Sir Alex Ferguson made sure that the Portuguese headed for Old Trafford.
Winger - Gareth Bale
Arsenal were monitoring the progress of Welsh superstar Gareth Bale at the same time as Theo Walcott while the pair were at Southampton.
Wenger said it was a "huge mistake" not snapping him up.
Forward - Lionel Messi
Arsenal had offered the Argentine a contract at the end of the 2002/03 season.
Forward - Kylian Mbappe
Wenger held talks with World Cup winner over a switch prior to his £165m PSG move.
Forward - Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Arsenal came close to signing the then 19-year-old Ibrahimovic while he was still at Malmo, but the striker didn’t respond well to being asked to play in a trial match.
“No way, Zlatan doesn’t do auditions,” the player bragged.
Having previously revealed stories of attempts to sign the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Paul Pogba and Raphael Varane among others - Arsenal fans have grown bored of the three-time Premier League winner's claims.
It was even revealed earlier this year that Wenger had bungled the chance to sign Liverpool superstar Sadio Mane for just £4million in 2012.
So when a clip circulated on Sunday of their former manager claiming he nearly signed Cristiano Ronaldo and tried to get Lionel Messi, Gunners fans were not impressed.
One wrote: "goes on about the same thing every week", prefaced with a snoring emoji.
Another joked: "And I almost met Santa Claus.."
While another was scathing: "They couldn't have been the players they're today.."
Wenger was appearing on beINSPORTS' live coverage of Liverpool vs Manchester City alongside Dimitar Berbatov and Andy Gray - and had been asked by host Richard Keys about whether it was true that he had been "a whisker" from signing Ronaldo.
To which Wenger responded: "True."
Keys then posed the scenario that when Arsenal signed Fabregas, that they "very nearly" secured Messi's signature in the same deal - which Wenger shut down.
"No, we tried... we were not near to sign Messi. But we tried to sign Pique, Fabregas...
"Messi, we already, we tried, but it was already too big at the time."
Wenger has been a prominent figure in the headlines recently, with his links to the vacant Bayern Munich job.
MORE ARSENAL NEWS
It has now been confirmed that he will not take up the reins at the Allianz Arena.
But the veteran hasn't ruled out a stunning return to management.
He was last seen in the dugout in May 2018 as he managed his last ever match with the Gunners, a 1-0 win at Huddersfield.