The Goalkeeper Who Walked Away from Manchester United to Prepare for the End of the World

On this Throwback Thursday, we revisit one of the most extraordinary stories in football history.

The tale of Carlos Roa, the Argentine goalkeeper who turned down a transfer to Manchester United because he believed the world was going to end in the year 2000.

Carlos Roa, now 55, was one of the most in-form goalkeepers in Europe during the late 1990s. Playing for Mallorca, he helped the club win the Spanish Supercup and played a crucial role in their run to the final of the 1998-1999 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup.

His performances didn’t go unnoticed. Roa was also Argentina’s number one goalkeeper at the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, where he starred in a memorable penalty shootout win against England.

Following his World Cup heroics and stellar club performances, top European clubs began circling around him. Among them was Manchester United, who were on the hunt for a long-term replacement for their legendary goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel.

Roa was high on their list. But while most players would jump at the opportunity to join the biggest club in the world, Roa stunned the football world by rejecting the offer.

Why? Because he believed the world was about to end.

Roa was a devout follower of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, a religious group with some members who held apocalyptic beliefs, particularly as the year 2000 approached. He was convinced that the end of the world was imminent.

Incredibly, rather than signing a life-changing contract with United or any other major European club, Roa chose to retire from football at the height of his career. Alongside his family and other church members, he moved to a remote village in Argentina to prepare for the end of days.

Mallorca, his club at the time, were stunned. They searched for him for months but couldn’t track him down. With no communication from Roa, they were forced to bring in a new goalkeeper and move on without him.

But as we now know, the year 2000 came and went, and the world did not end. Realizing this, Carlos Roa eventually returned to Mallorca to honor the remainder of his contract. However, things had drastically changed.

His long absence and the circumstances of his departure had taken a toll. His form had dipped significantly, and the club no longer saw him as their first-choice goalkeeper. Roa struggled to reclaim his spot, and by the age of 30, his once-promising career had effectively collapsed.

Carlos Roa’s story remains one of the most unusual in football history, a reminder of how personal beliefs, no matter how sincere, can dramatically shape the course of a career. From saving penalties on the world stage to hiding in the countryside from an impending apocalypse, Roa’s life was anything but ordinary.

Though his time at the top was short-lived, his story continues to be retold