Inter Milan beat Middlesbrough and Bryan Robson to a true icon - he could have eclipsed Juninho | OneFootball

Before becoming a true footballing icon with Real Madrid, Roberto Carlos almost signed for Middlesbrough.

In 1995, Middlesbrough was a club dancing to the Samba beat thanks to the arrival of Juninho, and had then player-manager Bryan Robson been just one week earlier to the negotiation table, Teesside may well have been home to Roberto Carlos too.

1995 was a wonderful time to be a Boro fan.

The club had just sealed their return to the Premier League during Robson's first full season as player-manager, winning the Division One (Championship) title in the process.

Following that triumphant campaign, Middlesbrough moved out of their historic Ayresome Park stadium, and into their brand-new state-of-the-art Riverside Stadium by the banks of the River Tees.

Ambitious spending would follow, with Brazilian superstar Juninho arriving for £4.75m, and as a result, Boro really did feel like a club that was evolving into a potential Premier League powerhouse of the future.

Bryan Robson bags Juninho, but missed Roberto Carlos opportunity by one week

At this time, the name Roberto Carlos was not the household name he would later become.

However, whilst on a scouting mission to the Umbro Cup whilst working alongside England manager Terry Venables as an assistant coach, he would first lay eyes on the young Brazilian defender.

Speaking with The 90s Football Show via Teesside Live in 2022, Robson revealed just how close he was to bringing Carlos to Middlesbrough.

He said: "When Terry Venables asked me to become a coach with England, we were in the Umbro Cup before the European Championships, which was Sweden, Brazil, Japan and ourselves.

"I was called about as a coach and I was scouting all the games. I saw Brazil playing a couple of games, there was Roberto Carlos and Juninho who were both the same age.

"I just thought, wow, they're two really good young players. So when I came away from that, I enquired about Juninho and Roberto Carlos and they were both in São Paulo.

"I spoke to Steve (Gibson) about Juninho, but I hadn't mentioned Roberto Carlos. We persuaded São Paulo to sell him to us for $5million/£4.75m.

"I said ‘what about the left-back Roberto Carlos?’ But they said ‘Mr Robson, you are too late, we just sold him to Inter Milan last week."

There are few players who could've usurped Juninho's legendary status at Middlesbrough - Roberto Carlos may have been one of them

One of the best left-backs to ever play the game, Carlos was a truly sensational footballer, and one who helped revolutionise the attacking requirements of the modern-day full-back.

The Brazilian would sign for Inter Milan in 1995, but after just a short amount of time in Italy, largely due to a disagreement with then Inter boss Roy Hodgson over his role in the team, he would depart for Real Madrid in 1996.

It would be with Los Blancos where he would truly cement his legacy in the game. Carlos would play an essential role in the Galactico teams of the late 1990s-early 2000s.

He would become renowned for his ability standing over a dead ball, with his cannon of a left-foot the architect for some of the finest free-kicks to have ever hit the net.

Carlos was living proof that Brazilian players are just born with exquisite technical ability and skill with a football, with his full package of tricks, flicks, passing, crossing and shooting ability being rarely seen before from a full-back.

During his time at the Santiago Bernabéu, he would win four La Liga titles, he'd lift the Champions League three times, whilst also collecting three Spanish Super Cups.

Whilst on the international stage, Carlos would be a part of Brazil's 2002 World Cup-winning side, as well as hoisting the Copa América on two occasions, as well as a Confederations Cup and a third place medal at the 1996 Olympic Games.

Therefore, whilst Juninho was and perhaps always will remain the gold standard for talent at Middlesbrough, had Carlos joined his fellow Brazilian comrade on putting pen to paper on a move to Teesside in 1995, he may well have beaten him to the crown of Boro's all-time greatest ever player.