Patrice Evra has revealed that former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson was "99% sure" of signing Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale prior to his retirement.
Ferguson brought an end to a 26-year reign in charge of United in 2013, shortly before lifting a 13th Premier League title.
However, Evra has claimed that the legendary manager had no plans to retire two weeks before his announcement, with audacious plans in place to re-sign Ronaldo and snap up Gareth Bale from Tottenham Hotspur.
"You know, you talk about the hardest moments [in my United career], I would say maybe [Fergie's retirement] is the one," he told Manchester United's official podcast.
"Two weeks before that, I remember there was a lot of media saying Ferguson will maybe retire next year, and he said, 'Patrice, I will never retire. I will be here another 10 years'.
"He then said: 'My target is I'm 99% sure we will have Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale. I just need these two players to win the Champions League again. Ninety-nine per cent.'
"And to be fair, when I speak with Cristiano, I ask him and he said yes to the boss, and was coming to join United. He told me this."
Ronaldo spent six seasons with United, winning eight major honours, prior to joining Real Madrid in 2009.
Daniel Lewis
