With the likes of Nathaniel Clyne and Petr Cech completing their moves to Liverpool and Arsenal respectively, both of whom were reportedly on Manchester United’s radar within the duration of the close season, United fans’ minds begin to toy restlessly with the possibility that perhaps could have done well at Old Trafford had the moves materialised. It comes as no surprise though to the Red Devils faithful as they’ve missed out on several top targets throughout the ages. But if a 31-year-old Chelsea tearaway shot-stopper doesn’t number our sleepless nights then who did? Here’s our top 10;
10) Michael Essien (Lyon – Chelsea)
Not once but twice did former gaffer Sir Alex Ferguson pull the plug on a deal to bring the midfielder to Old Trafford. The Ghanaian fell short of the mark (no pun intended) due to his height being insufficient. To this day Essien only stands 5”10 tall but that hasn’t stopped him from making a success of his career, after all, if Real Madrid could look past this flaw then why couldn’t we? He came back to haunt our then-gaffer as he spearheaded his ex-employers winning campaign that saw them top the table. Following his success’, the now 32-year-old felt able to divulge why exactly his Manchester move did not go through and perhaps tease the United faithful with what could have been; particularly as he revealed to Match of the Day magazine of his love for the country of England (not something many people can admit to) due to how ‘friendly’ its residents were. It’s a shame that Sir Alex was not as hospitable towards the little ‘un as Essien spoke of his ‘two trials at United’ but was subsequently ‘seen as too small.’ Additionally, I suppose the man-in-question just didn’t fit the bill when he tried, possibly being the case of wrong place, wrong time and the boss wasn’t going to burn a £24.5m sized hole in his wallet for just anyone as the Panathinaikos man claimed: ‘I think Sir Alex was looking for a certain type of player and I wasn’t the one then.’ His physique did not seemingly epitomise his potential much to the Reds’ regret.
9) John Terry (attempted to sign as a youth)
The Red Devils’ transfer targets are making a habit of ending up in the capital. Despite having the confession pried from that his childhood in fact consisted of worshipping United, the defender felt an undeniable connection with current club, Chelsea, and revealed that he just ‘knew’ the latter was the club for him. Terry told the tale of how as a youngster he would head up the M6 to spend a fortnight training alongside the United squad and playing a plethora of games for them in the jersey. In the end, even Sir Alex – in spite of how ‘special’ he made the now-34-year-old feel – wasn’t enough to overcome the ex-England International’s fondness for the Blues. ‘Autographs, my photo done with the Premiership trophy’ failed to dissuade the centre-back-in-question so he proclaimed, in addition to being singled out for invitations to match days and fine dining with the players. We did all we could but in the end it didn’t suffice and the Reds’ faithful weren’t the only ones struggling with his decision, as he divulged that his father too – who was also a United enthusiast – was taken aback when he opted for London as opposed to Manchester in 1995 and apparently, there were cross words between the two over the matter! Roll back the years and there really should have been no competition for United as they went in search of the signature, with the club significantly superior to their top flight rivals so we can admire Terry trusting his heart as it has taken him far in making a success of his footballing career seemingly.
8) Thiago Alcantara (Barcelona – Bayern)
The iconic name-in-the-frame during David Moyes’ reign was Thiago Alcantara. But given that it was a below-par campaign under the former Everton boss, you can’t blame Alcantara for weighing the value of Pep Guardiola as greater than Moyes and making the switch to Bayern Munich instead. The number six praised his manager as someone ‘you learn something new every day with,’ and whilst Moyes touched only a few players – such as Adnan Januzaj – during his short spell, the man who occupies the hot-seat at the Bundesliga outfit is an all round ‘magnificent coach who transmits real passion,’ we learn from the player-in-question. Prior to the season’s start, the Red Devils stood a chance. Shot-stopper de Gea was so convinced that his fellow Spaniard was set to join him at Old Trafford that he infamously scribed ‘See you in Manchester’ on the ball that was the midfielders to take home back to Barca after he bagged a hat-trick in the Euro Under-21 final for his country. When questioned upon the clubs approach, now plying his trade in Germany, the playmaker confirmed the interest but said ‘the real possibility was Bayern.’ Insult was added to injury when the gaffers alternative was linking up once more with midfielder Marouane Fellaini.
7) Luka Modric (Spurs – Real Madrid)
Drawing comparisons to Paul Scholes as the former was nearing retirement, Luka Modric was lined up as an ideal replacement. Manchester United’s ex-employee even admitted himself that the Croatian ‘is the man for me [Scholes].’ Tottenham’s chairmen, Daniel Levy and co, were what stood in between Modric and a Manchester move, and with Ferguson so put off at the prospect of negotiating with Spurs’ board members that he ended the interest in the now-Real Madrid ace. The Reds’ history of doing business with the club included the transfers of both Michael Carrick and Dimitar Berbatov ‘carry-on’ – as is stated in Sir Alex’s autobiography – and the air is yet to be cleared. This wasn’t the first occasion on which Modric disappointed the Old Trafford faithful as he threw a spanner in the works when at his peak of his Spurs career and committed himself to the club until 2016 (despite it not playing out as such) in 2010 to throw ourselves and Chelsea off guard.
6) Arjen Robben (PSV – Chelsea)
Believe it or not, Manchester United were outbid by another club in their pursuit of the once youthful winger. PSV were to receive £8million for Robben until Chelsea upped this to just £12million and all those hours spent negotiating terms with Sir Alex were forgotten. Perhaps now his countryman would prove to be an enticing prospect but himself and his family are comfortable in Munich now he claimed in order to fend off the Red Devils from making a second attempt at bringing him to Old Trafford. His father too stepped in to speak for his son and spoke about how he had been granted permission to speak to and take a look around the facilities of the club – which they did – and whilst Arjen never had a ‘flash lifestyle,’ he can therefore cope without one as a ‘down-to-earth’ person, his only query being how many games he would be granted. Once a cornerstone in a stellar Real Madrid squad, his old man also re-opened the wounds of Reds’ fans by insisting at the time, his boy and himself had a ‘good feeling’ about the switch. Upon reflection, the fee that the Reds refused to table will forever taunt them as Robben is still lighting up the Allianz Arena at 31-years-of-age, sprinkling his magic down the flank for the German giants. United great, Rio Ferdinand claimed that Ferguson had vowed not to ‘over-pay’ for any individual, but the defender is of the opinion that the Dutchman would have ‘fitted in.’
5) Eden Hazard (Lille – Chelsea)
The pattern persists as another player’s deciding factor on choosing Chelsea over United was an individual. Didier Drogba was the man to blame after he convinced Eden Hazard with a personal touch via a phone call that he should redirect his pilot to instead fly him to the capital at the 11th hour. ‘Flattered’ by ‘maybe the best striker in the world’ taking the time out, you can’t begin to imagine how valued the now-24-year-old must have felt. Initially he confessed, ‘I wasn’t going to sign’ but at the end of the day was ‘very pleased’ with the turnaround. This is perhaps why he awarded netting against the club that he was brink of donning the jersey for his ‘favourite moment’ of the 2014/15 campaign. Prior to his £34million transfer, the Belgian-born boy deployed the social media, Twitter, to convey to his followers – a large proportion of which were Lille faithful – that his offers consisted of ‘Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea.’ The playmaker also considered his development as he recorded that he would take into account ‘how much playing time I [Hazard] would get and the position where I play.’ Its unsurprising, therefore, that he would join Roman Ambramovich (who was too rumoured to contribute to his change-of-heart) as his lacked the superstars that United are renowned to possess’ in abundance and more likely to be playing regular first-team football. An element of regret was not denied by Hazard who admitted he was of the belief that he had made the wrong decision following the Blues’ turbulent term in which they finished up the sixth in the top flight. Nowadays, that is far from the case with his club surpassing United’s achievements two seasons in a row.
4) Alan Shearer (Southampton – Blackburn, Blackburn – Newcastle)
Unbelievably, Alan Shearer’s first possible switch in 1992 failed to go through all because of a phone call that Manchester United failed to return. After missing the tentative approach from the Red Devils, he honoured his promise to give then-Blackburn Rovers manager, Kenny Dalgish, his answer on where he would like to be plying his trade next season within ‘two or three days.’ Whether his message slipped through the net or Sir Alex plainly ignoring it, Shearer revealed that he stated in the playback that he would ‘love’ to have talks with the club. Four years on, the Premier League outfit were competing with Newcastle United for his signature and if it hadn’t been for the fact that Tyneside was the now-44-year-olds turf, the prolific leader-of-the-line would have graced Old Trafford with his goals instead. Painfully for the United faithful, shearer had even ‘found a house in Manchester’ ahead of the move but Ferguson was unable to compete with his roots. Bringing down the curtain on his career in 2006 as the all-time Premier League top scorer with 283 strikes to his name in 599 appearances. This snubbing could come back to bite in the form of Wayne Rooney who poses a threat upon the record that he holds dear, although the former England International doesn’t regret making the switch to his boyhood club nor Blackburn – which he described as a ‘magical time’ – despite being ‘tempted’ otherwise.
3) Paul Gascoigne (Newcastle – Spurs)
Another fellow Magpie has a different outlook on his turning down of the Reds and does regret not donning the United jersey, telling that he does often ‘think about what would have been.’ The Toon’s PFA Player of the Year back in 1988 caught the eye of the gaffer but partially another Sir Alex schoolboy error and partially putting his family at fault, Paul Gascoigne told the story of how the Red Devils’ manager took a vacation at the crucial stage in his transfer. This saw Spurs snatch the midfielder from under Ferguson’s nose whilst he was sunning himself abroad. On the other hand, Tottenham’s offer of housing for his relatives was one he could not refuse, having had a childhood in which Gascoigne’s family were forced to scrimp and save. When revealing this to his father, the latter simply question: ‘well what are you waiting for?’ The side he turned down began to flourish as streams of youngsters lit up the first-team, leaving the Gateshead-born guy to envision the success’ he could have had at the Theatre of Dreams. After the London-based outfit played on his heartstrings, almost guilt tripping the now-48-year-old to become a Lilywhite, the player-in-questions first fan mail through the letterbox was from none other than Alex Ferguson! He expressed his disbelief that Gascoigne had ‘turned down the biggest club.’
2) Gareth Bale (Southampton – Spurs, Spurs – Real Madrid)
Manchester United were hoping to make it third time lucky in the capture of Gareth Bale but if previously having two fruitless attempts at bringing then 25-year-old on board didn’t tell Louis van Gaal it was doomed, then I don’t know what could have. Valuing him as both a full-back and winger, the Manchester-based outfit, Sir Alex first queried the South Coast side about his availability but ‘they never came back to us, so he says. However, the player perhaps benefitted more with Spurs as Harry Redknapp transformed him into an attacking minded man. Only renewing United’s drive to sign Cardiff-born Bale, at one point shelves in newsagents worldwide were lined with details of the imminent move, labelling him to be ‘Manchester United-bound.’ Hopes dashed once more, the Old Trafford faithful saw the slim build set his sights on a future with the 10-time European Champions. Tottenham’s chairman Daniel Levy reinforced his reputation as a hard-to-bargain-with chap as it burnt a £85.3million sized hole in Real’s wallet which, up until now, he has been worth every penny of. The pull of the size of the Spanish side cannot be denied, and with his priority in his career being ‘winning trophies,’ his choice was an appropriate one. Not meant to be, Bale still insists: ‘I can’t see myself at Manchester United.’
1) Ronaldinho (PSG – Barcelona)
‘On the brink’ of swapping France for England with – ‘just a few details to iron out’ – Ronaldinho’s change of heart was a last ditch one, with the La Liga giants also making an appearance as the sun was setting in order to swoop for the winger. Prior to the move, the footballing great was ’99.9 per cent sure’ to test himself against bigger and better at Old Trafford. He didn’t take much persuading as the Brazilian bonza disclosed that ‘everything happened very quickly’ in his first-choice move as opposed to the ‘matter of 48 hours’ that had they passed without the Spaniards stepping forward, the player would have gone down in Red Devils folklore. The now-35-year-old was eyed up to be Beckham’s successor if you roll back the years to 2003 when the Englishman too was pricing up houses his transition to sunny Spain. Opening up on the reasons for choosing Camp Nou over the Theatre of Dreams, emulating George Best had nothing on following in the footsteps of ‘Romario, Ronaldo, and Rivaldo.’ He wished instead to become ‘Barcelona’s new ‘R.’’ So we have Sandro Rosell to thank (not) for bringing back Ronaldinho from the verge of signing the paperwork after he won the election that granted him presidency of Barca and sealed the player-in-questions signature. Even today clips of the almost unreal Ronaldinho litter Facebook and Twitter feeds paying tribute to the long-living legend that haunts the United faithful. Ronaldinho really is the one that got away.
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