Pablo Zabaleta has opened up on putting Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's names up in the Manchester City dressing room.
Zabaleta joined City in 2008 only days before Abu Dhabi United Group took over the club.
The new ownership wasted no time before moving for big-money targets, tabling almost £40million for Real Madrid forward Robinho and £21m for Brazil striker Jo.
And the flurry of expensive signings had City's squad thinking superstars Messi or Ronaldo may be joining the club imminently.
In fact, members of the team were so concerned that they might be replaced that Zabaleta admitted "we were s******* ourselves".
The West Ham United full-back told Argentine newspaper La Nacion : "Ten days after my arrival, the purchase of the club by the people of Abu Dhabi is executed.
"Four days later, they invest £40 million for Robinho and there I said, 'Now what do I do? I'm going to last six months here.'
"We took it a bit as a joke and...in the locker room we started putting 'Messi', ' Cristiano Ronaldo '. We were s******* ourselves."
Zabaleta joined the Irons in 2017 after winning five trophies during his nine-year stint with City.
The 35-year-old is out of contract this summer and admitted that his retirement is nearing, especially with the uncertainty created by the coronavirus outbreak.
He added: "I think about it every day. I wake up thinking, 'Is this what awaits me after retirement?' Now, somehow, we'll go back to training and we will see. But it's all still uncertain.
"I had even come to think, at the end of this season, to give myself the joy of playing one more season in another league, perhaps in Italy, but now I don't know.
"The chances are you won't play in front of a crowd, so what motivation could I have left? Why go to Italy if mythical stadiums like the Olimpico in Rome or San Siro will be closed?"
