The Phenomenon Ronaldo has revealed one of the intriguing incidents that ultimately led to his departure from Barcelona in 1997.
The Brazil legend spent a single season at Barcelona and insists he was happy there. He had even struck an agreement to stay. Then Barcelona's management shifted their stance, and his relationship with the Blaugrana fell apart.
The Sport newspaper published comments from the former samba star, who said: "I was happy at Barcelona. My agent was there, and in the end they reached an agreement."
He added: "They called me at the time and told me: look, we have a deal. You'll stay with us on a new contract at Barcelona. We're very happy and Barcelona is happy."
Days later, everything changed. Ronaldo says that three days after that conversation, Barcelona reversed their position and opened the door for him to leave.
The Phenomenon explained: "Three days later they called me and said: look, we can't sign this contract with you. If you have a chance to leave, all you have to do is bring the money needed to pay the release clause, and then you can go."
Deeply let down by the U-turn, Ronaldo decided to find a way out.
He noted: "I told them: look, I no longer feel comfortable staying with Barcelona, because these people have no commitment to their word. So I want to leave."
He concluded: "Inter Milan came in. They paid Barcelona, I think the sum was 40 million euros at the time, and it was a huge amount. And so I left for the Italian side."