my aphrodisiac, my intoxication

He could've been ours!

Thompson also revealed Liverpool were close to signing Cristiano Ronaldo before he joined Manchester United.

"One star who got away in surprising fashion was Cristiano Ronaldo, who shocked us when he signed for Manchester United in 2003, for an astonishing £12m. I say astonishing because we had been offered the player for £4m.

"I was invited to watch Sporting Lisbon play Porto in the last game of the season. Ronaldo was playing for Sporting. Tony Henry, the former Manchester City player and agent, was on the phone on a regular basis to see if he could take us to watch him.

"I met Tony at the airport and travelled to Porto. I met the player's Portuguese agent before watching the game. Ronaldo was quite good, but not as impressive as the first time I saw him. Tony was pushing the boy and saying he was a talent. He was saying: 'He will only cost £4m.

'"He added: 'It can be paid over the course of his contract, £1m a year.

'"He also said that the player wanted £1m tax free. I said: 'The boy is only 18. That is a massive problem,' but Tony suggested it was negotiable.

"I returned back the following day impressed with what I had seen and mentioned it to Gerard. He said: 'I will ask Rick.'

"We had just signed Florent Sinama-Pongolle and Anthony Le Tallec, both on far less than Ronaldo's aspirations. And we would have had anarchy if the other players had found out how much we were considering paying for an 18-year-old kid.

"We looked for a compromise. Ten days later I was sitting in a lounge at Anfield having some lunch and looking at the big TV screen. Up came the news United had signed Ronaldo from Lisbon for £12.2m. Gerard and myself nearly choked on our food.

"Gerard said: 'Contact Tony Henry,' and I went straight out and rang him. I said: 'what happened? More importantly, what happened with the price?' He said: 'After you had been with me, I got a phone call the following week and was told to drop everything on the deal. Hand on heart, I really don't know what happened.'

"I went back and told Gerard the story. What happened, God only knows. For the fee to jump from £4m to £12m, especially as they seemed so desperate, was surprising to say the least."