When Blackburn Rovers tried to sign Maradona, David Beckham, Ronaldinho and Raul

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Famously, Blackburn Rovers have had more than their fair share of near misses in the transfer market.

In 1995, during the summer when they were reigning Premier League champions, Rovers were offered the chance to sign Zinedine Zidane.

‘Why would we need Zidane when we’ve got Tim Sherwood?’ was then-Blackburn owner Jack Walker’s immortal response.

A couple of years earlier, Walker and Kenny Dalglish came close to capturing Roy Keane, who was then playing under Brian Clough at Nottingham Forest.

Ultimately, of course, Keane would join Manchester United.

Then there was the ash cloud from a volcanic eruption in Iceland which saw Robert Lewandowski’s flights grounded and his proposed move to Ewood Park called off.

The Pole, then at Lech Poznan, later joined Borussia Dortmund instead and went on to become of the most prolific strikers in the modern era.

More recently, Blackburn’s missteps in the transfer market have been far less glamorous and far more damning of the Venky’s regime.

Rovers’ financial issues – which have been compounded by a court case in India which has limited the cash Venky’s van send to East Lancashire – have made blue-chip signings all but impossible.

The two nadirs came in the January transfer windows of 2023 and 2024, when administrative errors saw Lewis O’Brien and Duncan McGuire’s proposed moves to Ewood Park fall through at the eleventh hour.

Even more recently, John Eustace’s shock decision to ditch Blackburn in favour of Derby County has been chalked up to an apparent lack of ambition in this season’s winter window.

That said, Eustace has been given short shrift by Rovers fans – to put it mildly.

With Valerian Ismael now in the dugout at Ewood Park and Blackburn winless in three matches under the new manager, calls for the Venky’s to step aside are growing louder once more.

The Indian owners bought the club in 2010, when Blackburn Rovers were still a fixture in the Premier League.

After dismissing Sam Allardyce and sticking with the unexperienced Steve Kean for far, far longer than they should, Rovers were relegated to the Championship at the end of 2011-12.

They have since fallen into League One, returned to the Championship again, and – despite the behind-the-scenes picture being bleak – have an outside chance of a top-six finish this season.

But that is cutting a long, painful and often downright bizarre story of the Venky’s era short.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
6	CoventryCoventry	37	16	8	13	52	48	4	56
7	Bristol CityBristol City	37	13	15	9	47	40	7	54
8	MiddlesbroughMiddlesbrough	37	15	8	14	57	48	9	53
9	BlackburnBlackburn	37	15	7	15	41	38	3	52
10	WatfordWatford	37	15	7	15	47	50	-3	52
11	Sheffield WednesdaySheffield Wednesday	37	14	9	14	53	58	-5	51

In the early days, now 15 years ago, the poultry firm promised the world, with some of the biggest names in football linked with Blackburn Rovers.

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Venky’s planned to appoint Diego Maradona as manager

It speaks to the ineptitude of English football’s owners’ and directors’ tests past and present that, despite not knowing that clubs could be relegated from the Premier League, Venky’s were allowed to buy Rovers.

Far fetched as it sounds, however, the lack of knowledge of how the sport works is not the most outlandish story to emerge from Ewood Park when the ownership regime was in its nascent phase.

Almost as soon as they were in the door, some curious headlines started to emerge.

Venky’s, for example, admitted that they hoped to stage free RnB concerts featuring Akon and Kelly Rowland at Ewood Park to try and win over the fans.

The Indian family have a penchant for celebrity friends – Paris Hilton has previously been pictured holding a Rovers shirt after a nudge from the owners at one of their parties.

The warning signs were there early on.

After Allardyce’s dismissal, Blackburn tried to appoint none other than Diego Maradona as manager. Reportedly, that deal came close, but the Argentine all-timer eventually went to the UAE instead.

Former England boss Sven-Goran Errikson was also approached, but he snubbed Rovers.

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Blackburn targeted Ronaldinho, David Beckham and Raul

Maradona and Sven weren’t the only blockbuster target. In a trap that many new owners have fallen into, the Venky’s were targeting the nae, not the footballer.

Ronaldinho, then at AC Milan but seeking pastures new, was offered a £130,000-a-week contract.

The Brazilian legend’s agent was in talks with the Venky family, who specifically had earmarked him as a statement signing.

The then 30-year-old turned his nose up at the proposal, choosing the sandy beaches of Rio de Janeiro and a move to Flamengo over the cobbles in Blackburn.

At exactly the same time, two Real Madrid icons – David Beckham and Raul – were also targets for Blackburn.

Beckham, who was then in the States with LA Galaxy, could have linked up with former Real teammate Michel Salgado at Ewood Park.

In the end – perhaps on the advice of Victoria – he decided against pitching up in East Lancashire.

Raul meanwhile was at Schalke at the time and had fallen out with Ralf Rangnick. The Venky’s pursued the then 34-year-old doggedly, but he turned the move down.