Everton chose not to buy a 17-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo in 2002 for £2million, as they wanted to put full confidence in Wayne Rooney.
This was revealed in a new book ‘Messi vs Ronaldo’.
Ronaldo stayed at Sporting Lisbon for one more season, before eventually signing for Manchester United and getting to play in the Premier League.
Rooney, who was 16-year-old at the time, was promoted to the senior team that summer.