Aston Villa turned down the signing of one of the Invincibles 🤦‍♂️ | OneFootball

Aston Villa turned down the opportunity to sign an integral part of Arsenal’s 2003/04 invincibles side, because he cost more than £1.5m.

According to the Birmingham Mail, the Villains were once in discussions over the signing of Brazilian midfielder Gilberto Silva.

However, the club decided against pursuing a move for the 2002 World Cup winner due to a disagreement on the price.

The report states that in 2002 Villa manager Graham Taylor had the then 25-year-old on his transfer wishlist after watching him impress for Brazil in Japan and South Korea.

A meeting then took place between representatives of Gilberto’s club, Atletico Mineiro, and Aston Villa chairman Doug Ellis at Villa Park.

It was believed a fee of around £6m would be enough to see the defensive midfielder become a hero on the Holte End.

However, Villa refused to pay anything above £1.5m which led to both parties going their separate ways.

Later that summer, Gilberto signed for Arsenal for a fee of £4.5m and went on to help the Gunners go unbeaten on their way to winning the Premier League title.

Oh, what might have been.