The former coach of Liverpool, Gerard Houllier, has said that the salary structure at the club was the reason why the transfer of Cristiano Ronaldo failed.
The Frenchman, who was manager at Anfield until 2004, had targeted the Portuguese in 2003 from Sporting Lisbon, but he says the wages demanded by Ronaldo were too high and he signed Harry Kewell instead, as the Portuguese joined Manchester United .
"I saw him in an U-21 tournament and we were looking for him. But we had a salary structure and we weren't willing to pay the salary he was asking for. Then United played a friendly with Sporting Lisbon and everyone told Sir Alex Ferguson 'you have to move him'. I agreed not to break the salary rules. I think she would cause problems in our team," he told the Liverpool Echo.
Ronaldo, now a Real Madrid player, has won the Ballon d'Or four times and has scored more than 600 goals in his career.
