Revealed: Tottenham ignored advice to sign Cristiano Ronaldo and are now paying the price for transfer mistakes

In a revelation that will leave the Tottenham faithful wondering what might have been, Rosenthal has detailed how he attempted to bring a teenage Ronaldo to White Hart Lane. Long before the Portuguese icon became a global superstar at Manchester United and Real Madrid, he had identified his explosive talent during his early days at Sporting CP.

Speaking on the club's historic recruitment blunder, Rosenthal said to Flashscore: "I saw Cristiano in his second or third game for Sporting's first team, and I immediately alerted Tottenham, but they didn't follow it up." The missed opportunity to land arguably the greatest player in the history of the game serves as a bitter pill to swallow for Spurs fans, especially as the club now find themselves in a precarious position near the foot of the table. "I already understood that speed would be the name of the game. It's why I discovered players like Samuel Eto'o, Cristiano Ronaldo, Vincent Kompany, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and many more, because I was looking for the top sprinters in football."

The failure to secure world-class talent is haunting the club today. Rosenthal believes that the current squad lacks the explosive qualities needed to compete in the modern Premier League, especially following the departure of Son Heung-min. While former manager Ange Postecoglou implemented an attractive style, the lack of clinical pace out wide has left the team vulnerable and blunt in attack.

"Tottenham don't have enough speed in the side," Rosenthal noted. "Under Postecoglou, they played fantastic, amazing football with good combinations, but don't forget, Son was there, and he's not there anymore. So you have something a little bit similar to the upcoming Salah situation at Liverpool. Tottenham don't have wingers or players with electrifying pace, and that's precisely what they do need."

The consequences of these recruitment failures have resulted in a nightmare 2025-26 campaign, with Spurs currently embroiled in a relegation dogfight alongside West Ham. Despite the club's stature, the threat of the Championship is real, though a recent victory over Aston Villa has offered a glimmer of hope for Roberto De Zerbi's side as they head into a crucial final stretch.

Assessing the danger, Rosenthal said: "Of course, it's a crazy situation for Tottenham, but after the last win against Villa, I think they have maybe a 40% chance of going down, and 60% to stay up. They obviously have to beat Leeds to stand a chance, and hope that West Ham don't win. There's still a chance for them to forget this horrible season. I think the Villa game was a possible turning point. It seems to me that tactically, the new manager understands the defensive side of the game because he knows he doesn't have a top team, and he cannot kill off games."

If Tottenham manage to survive the drop, the rebuilding job facing De Zerbi is monumental. Rosenthal argues that the squad is currently bloated with "mediocre" players and needs a significant injection of elite talent to ever return to the top six. While some individuals like Micky van de Ven and James Maddison are seen as vital, the overall quality remains insufficient for a club of Spurs' ambitions.

"It's still early days," Rosenthal added regarding De Zerbi's impact. "There's a lot of expectation that Tottenham need to always be in the top six, so he will need to bring in four new players, but really top, top stars. He has the main players there already; Van de Ven... [Djed] Spence is important, Maddison is important, and [Mohamed] Kudus, but there are too many mediocre players. It's just about adding quality... It's going to be very difficult, and it's very expensive."