‘I snubbed Sir Alex Ferguson and Man Utd move because I thought world would end’
Former Argentina star Carlos Roa turned down the chance to join Manchester United because he thought the world was about to end.
The goateed goalie, who helped knock England out of the 1998 World Cup by saving a couple of penalties in the shootout, was one of Europe's top shot-stoppers at the turn of the Century.
As such, he'd caught the eye of Sir Alex Ferguson who wanted him to replace the outgoing Peter Schmeichel following United's historic Treble victory in 1999.
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A deal was hastily agreed with Roa's club Mallorca, but the move collapsed when the player, who was only 29 at the time, announced he was retiring due to fears of an impending apocalypse.
You see, Roa was a devout Seventh-day Adventist who believed in the Second Coming of Jesus. Many Seventh-day Adventists, Roa included, thought this Second Coming would occur at the dawn of the Millennium, and subsequently spark Armageddon.
Leaping around to catch a ball for a few bucks, understandably, felt pretty pointless, so Roa hung up his gloves and spent what he thought would be his final few months on Earth helping out at his church.
The world didn't end, you may remember, and a presumably-relieved, but utterly red-faced, Roa returned to Mallorca for the start of the following season – though his form was never the same again.
More than 20 years have passed since and although the Argentine insists he has no regrets spiritually, he did admit his apocalyptic sabbatical ruined his career.
"Today, I still think that on a spiritual level it was a very good decision. But in sporting terms it wasn't – because I left football at the best moment of my career," he told The Mirror back in 2020.
"At that time I was very attached to religion and bible study. It was a difficult decision to make but at the same time thoughtful – and my family agreed with me. Certain things happened that will never be known because they are personal and I could only speak to the most intimate people.
"People will never understand it. Back then they drove me crazy, they called me from all sides, and as much as I tried to explain my decision it was very difficult for them to understand … Many things were said back then out of ignorance and I was branded a thousand bad things."
He said his decision hurt Mallorca twofold as the club not only lost a great player but also a great deal of money considering the fee United had agreed to pay for him.
"The people of the club thought that I was going to go back and that they would recover a lot of money with that transfer that was about to happen. I could have progressed a lot, with great contracts and the possibility of playing in England."
Roa's decision also caused United a major headache, who spent the next six years churning through a cavalcade of claptrap keepers including Raimond van der Gouw, Mark Bosnich, Massimo Taibi, Riccardo, Andy Goram, Roy Carroll, Tim Howard and Fabien Barthez.
Mercifully, United's search for Schmeichel's successor ended in 2005 when they signed Edwin van der Sar, but they could have spared themselves time, money and that 5-0 defeat to Chelsea had Roa not been so blindly wedded to his faith.
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