When Sir Alex Ferguson was searching for a replacement for Peter Schmeichel in the Manchester United goal, he thought he'd found the ideal man in an Argentina international who had helped knock England out of the World Cup.
Carlos Roa saved the crucial penalty in the 1998 World Cup tie between the two countries and a year later he was one of the best goalkeepers in the world, so a perfect candidate to replace the brilliant Schmeichel.
In the end the deal didn't happen and Ferguson spent six years going through seven different goalkeepers before finally signing Edwin van der Sar.
But Roa has now revealed the bizarre reason he rejected United. The then 30-year-old was a devout Seventh-day Adventist who was convinced the world was going to end at the turn of the millennium, so he told his Spanish club Mallorca he was packing the football in and leaving to pursue his faith, leaving United's search for a new goalkeeper to continue.
Now the former Argentina international admits to some regrets at not pursuing a move to England, although he insists he still made a good decision "on a spiritual level".
“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," he told the Mirror.
“Certain things happened that will never be known because they are personal and I could only speak to the most intimate people.
“Many things were said back then out of ignorance and I was branded a thousand bad things.
“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.
“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.
“I could have progressed a lot, with great contracts and the possibility of playing in England.
“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.”
