Former Arsenal scout Damien Comolli admits a lack of finance cost the club signing then Sporting CP teen Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ronaldo would eventually join Manchester United before moving onto Real Madrid.

He even visited Arsenal's London Colney training ground.

However, the Gunners were unable to reach an agreement to bring Ronaldo to Highbury, opening the door for Manchester United to sign him in 2003.

"The first time I saw Ronaldo, it was at the Montaigu tournament, he was 15," former Tottenham and Liverpool director of football Comolli told SFR Sport.

"He came to the [Arsenal] training centre twice. Nobody knows that. He met Thierry Henry, who was his idol. But when it came to making the transfer, there was no money."