Manchester City had a "considerable chance" of signing Cristiano Ronaldo before he re-joined Manchester United, according to Fernandinho.
Premier League champions City were strongly linked with Ronaldo last month after it emerged he had asked to leave Juventus, where he had spent the previous three seasons.
However, United pulled of a stunning coup by agreeing a deal worth up to £19.67million (€23m) for the five-time Ballon d'Or winner, 12 years after he had departed for Real Madrid.
Ronaldo has made a fine start to his second spell at United with three goals in two games, but Fernandinho has suggested the Portugal captain could well have been a City player.
Asked how close his side came to signing the superstar forward, Fernandinho told ESPN Brasil: "I think they had a good, considerable chance.
"I think his agent [Jorge Mendes] was here at the club renewing the contracts of Ederson, Ruben Dias, seeing the situation of Bernardo Silva and Joao Cancelo.
"Obviously, if you're there at the table, you can talk about everything and every possible player."
Shortly after putting pen to paper on an initial two-year deal with United, Ronaldo revealed the part former boss Alex Ferguson had on his decision to opt for a return to Old Trafford.
And given the media attention surrounding the prospect of Ronaldo agreeing to join City, Fernandinho believes other factors played a part in the 36-year-old's decision.
"I think that a lot of expectations were also raised with the possibility of him coming here," the Brazilian said. "No doubt this ends up affecting not only the fans, but also the people inside the club.
"But in the end, things didn't work out, he didn't close the deal, and ended up going to the red side of town. Life goes on."
After scoring twice on his second Old Trafford debut in last weekend's 4-1 win against Newcastle United, Ronaldo was again on target in the Red Devils' surprise 2-1 Champions League loss to Young Boys on Tuesday.
Ronaldo's 13th-minute opener made Young Boys the 36th different side he has scored against in the Champions League, a record the Portuguese now shares with Lionel Messi.
He also equalled another record in Switzerland on what was his 177th Champions League appearance, matching the number of games player by legendary Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas.
Lukaku's profligacy frustrates Inter coach Inzaghi
Simone Inzaghi did not hide his frustration at Romelu Lukaku's struggles in front of goal after Inter lost 1-0 to Fiorentina on Saturday.
Inter's losing streak in Serie A was extended to their worst in six years as Giacomo Bonaventura's second-half header proved decisive at San Siro.
The Nerazzurri have now lost three straight top flight matches, with Bonaventura's winner coming shortly after a woeful miss from Lukaku.
Having rediscovered his goalscoring touch while on international duty with Belgium, Lukaku was unable to transfer that form across to his club side as he failed to hit the target from close range with the goal gaping.
No Inter player had more shots than his three, with Lukaku not managing to get any of them on target, despite accumulating 1.2 expected goals.
While not pinning the blame entirely on Lukaku – who is reported to have confronted Inzaghi about a lack of opportunities while he has been fit this season – Inter's coach was quick to point out the importance of those misses.
Speaking to DAZN, Inzaghi said: "If he had scored those chances, Lukaku's performance would be judged in a very different way.
"His role is to create the opportunities, make the movements that the team needs.
"He wasn't the only one who had chances today, so I wouldn't focus only on Romelu."
Inzaghi also stressed he is ultimately responsible for turning Inter's fortunes around.
"There is great disappointment, we lost two consecutive home matches," he said. "We need to work more, starting with me.
"At the moment, we need to be more determined, because we had so many chances to score and we should have done.
"I cannot ask for more in terms of effort, as the players did everything I asked of them."
Inzaghi is not wrong. While Fiorentina had more shots (19 to 16) and got the same number of attempts on target (three each), Inter finished with a 2.8 xG compared to the visitors' 1.2, suggesting the quality of opportunities that went their way was far greater.
Lukaku's glaring miss came from by far the best opportunity of the match, with Opta's model estimating the chance would be converted 92 per cent of the time (0.92 xG).
The 29-year-old's future is uncertain. He is on loan at Inter, but due to return to parent club Chelsea at the end of the season.
Before the match, Inter chief Giuseppe Marotta told DAZN: "[Lukaku's] love for the Inter jersey is 10 out of 10, we'll evaluate the prospects with Chelsea."
Xavi salutes unsung heroes for team effort as Barcelona swat aside Elche
Xavi highlighted Barcelona's success as a team effort rather than down to individual performances after a comfortable 4-0 win in LaLiga over Elche.
A Robert Lewandowski double, plus goals for Ansu Fati and Ferran Torres, saw the Blaugrana swat aside their rock-bottom hosts at Estadio Manuel Martinez Valero.
Against a team who look almost certain to be relegated, there were few doubts about Barca's superiority.
But Xavi was quick to praise his side's unsung heroes as much as their headline-makers, stating his belief that it is a balance of both that will bring them the title.
"It has been a rounded night," he said. "[It was] a very good game, from start to finish. We have a team with players who do not necessarily participate too much.
"[But] they performed at a high level. This is [the definition of] a team. We have taken one more step [towards the championship], we are closer. We have shown that we are a unit."
The coach highlighted the versatility of several of his players, including Eric Garcia, who played in midfield, and Marcos Alonso, who fulfilled a centre-back role.
On Fati, Xavi was happy to see the player put his off-field distractions behind him, following a week where his father complained about his lack of minutes for the club.
"Ansu made a difference," he added. "It has left him exhausted, but he has done a great job for the team. His goal comes because of his work ethic and talent.
"He has that, and it will come out. If he continues to work like this, he will end up playing more often."
Kvitova triumphs in Miami Open to dash Rybakina's Sunshine Double hopes
Elena Rybakina's superb run in the United States was ended by Petra Kvitova, who won 7-6 (16-14) 6-2 to clinch the Miami Open title.
Two-time grand slam champion Kvitova, 33, became the second-oldest Miami champion, denying young gun Rybakina a Sunshine Double in the process.
Rybakina, fresh from her triumph at the Indian Wells Open, has been in stunning form but could not find her groove on Saturday.
After clinching the first set following a marathon tie-break, Kvitova took momentum into the second, cruising into a 5-2 lead before sealing the win with a break – Rybakina sending a forehand long.
Kvitova equalled Simona Halep as the players with the third-most WTA 1000 titles (nine), with only Serena Williams (13) and Victoria Azarenka (10) having won more since 2009.
"It feels unbelievable. I'm 33, and it's my 30th title, so I'm very happy," Kvitova told Amazon Prime Sport.
"I didn't think, that was the key. Elena didn't lose a tie-break [this season]. I thought, well, she has to lose at some time. I had to be a bit more aggressive, it was a bit of a struggle. I was a bit nervous, yes.
"I would have laughed [if someone told me I was going to win] but it feels great for sure. Nobody expected this, not me, not my team. I'm happy I'm injury free and, oh my God, I made it."
Kvitova is the second woman to win the singles title in Miami after turning 33, following Serena Williams in 2015.
Indeed, only Serena Williams (68), Justine Henin (42), Venus Williams (40), Kim Clijsters (40) and Maria Sharapova (36) have more WTA singles title to their name in the 21st century than the Czech.
Rybakina, meanwhile, will lament the chance of a Sunshine Double going begging.
The 23-year-old is the fourth player to fail to win the Sunshine Double in Miami's final after Serena Williams (1999), Lindsay Davenport (2000) and Sharapova (2006 and 2013).
"I want to congratulate Petra for a great two weeks here in Miami, and good luck for the rest of the year," said Rybakina. "Thank you to my team, we'll keep going."
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