5 star players who refused to play for Barcelona

• Football history is so cruel that it keeps a flawless record of the right and wrongs
• One of the players who refused to play for Barcelona is Cristiano Ronaldo
• It’s ironical since many elite footballers always wanted to play for the Catalan giants

Football history is so cruel that it keeps a flawless record of the right and wrongs done over decades. In particular, it never forget about several players who refused to play for Barcelona.

It’s such a big irony because many football players aspire to play for Barcelona, the Catalan giants known for their resilience. Elite footballers, like Luis Suarez and Neymar, always said moving to Barcelona was a dream come true.

But, the prospect of playing for Camp Nou, though, never deterred some genuinely the following outstanding stars.

RIO FERDINAND

Rio Ferdinand refused to play for Barcelona. Photo by MArca

Rio Ferdinand was one of the most sought-after defenders in the world during his time. He won sixteen titles, was twice the most expensive defender in the world, and captained his nation throughout his illustrious career. However, he is among the players who refused to play for Barcelona.

Barcelona was one of his generation’s strongest teams, but they needed to spruce up their defence. And Ferdinand was the best choice to strengthen Barcelona’s defence.  Sadly, the English international later admitted that he turned down the offer since he was already succeeding in every way at Manchester United. There was nothing that would make him change his mind.

DAVID LUIZ

David Luiz. Photo by Eurosport

Barcelona made a few offers for the Brazilian centre-back with curly hair during his first stint at Chelsea. However, David Luiz thought that a transfer to Paris Saint-Germain would benefit his career.

When playing for the Ligue 1 powerhouses, Luiz admitted to being one of the players who refused to play for Barcelona. He said it was authentic Barcelona tried to poach him a couple of times, and everything seemed nice. His heart at the time finally understood PSG was the squad that he wanted to play with.

Luiz dazzled Barcelona scouts with his ball-handling prowess and was viewed as the ideal ball-playing defender. However, the Brazilian turned them down and joined PSG before sensationally returning to Chelsea in 2016.

CRISTIANO RONALDO

Cristiano Ronaldo World Cup Qatar. Photo by Eurosport

Consider Cristiano Ronaldo playing for Barcelona! Messi and Ronaldo play for the same squad. Wow! It would indeed have occurred if renowned former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson had his way.

The Scotsman notoriously declared that he would not even “sell a virus” to Real Madrid because he was furious with them for removing all his key players, including David Beckham, Ruud van Nistelrooy, and Gabriel Heinze, behind his back.

After accepting his loss, Sir Alex even attempted to offer Ronaldo to Real Madrid’s main rivals Barcelona in 2009. However, the top player from Portugal declined the offer because he only wanted to play for Real Madrid.

Roman Calderon, a former president of Real, discussed how Ronaldo turned down Barcelona in March 2014. Calderon recalls Camp Nou’s bliss at the thought of having Ronaldo with them. But he flatly rejected this offer.

The former Manchester United star remains the biggest star of players who refused to play for Barcelona.

KOKE

Koke. Photo by Marca

When Atletico Madrid won the La Liga championship in the 2013–14 season. Atletico Madrid’s stars that year were Diego Costa and Koke were at the centre of this significant victory. So it should be no surprise that Barcelona was interested in the incredibly gifted midfielder.

Barcelona scouts and Luis Enrique viewed Koke as a long-term replacement for Xavi, but the Spaniard turned down the offer and stayed with his childhood team. In an interview with AS in August 2014, Koke remarked that a part of him acknowledged it was challenging to say no to Barca. However, he wanted to continue playing for Atletico.

Barca’s offer was difficult to refuse, and their interest was valid. It indicated that his skills and efforts were of value to another team. Atletico was his home, and he wasn’t ready to leave, yet he surely followed his heart to the end.

THIAGO SILVA

Thiago Silva. Photo by Goal.com

Thiago Silva has a high reputation as one of the world’s best and most reliable centre-backs. However, he is also one of the players who refused to play for Barcelona not once but twice.

When he was at AC Milan and PSG, the Brazilian centre-back was in demand, but Silva openly said that he turned down Barcelona for the chance to earn more money in Paris.

He says that it was difficult to decide to reject Barcelona twice despite idolizing the team since he was a young child. He always dreamt that he could play for Barcelona. However, difficult choices have to be made in life, sometimes in opposition to your dreams which is what he did.

Silva never forgets that people said he was only concerned with money, but they fail to realise that he has a family he needed to support. He ponders why he would agree to play for Barcelona for less while PSG offered him a better deal.