Manchester United have produced some of the greatest players of all time through their famous academy, and the Red Devils have also signed some iconic players.
Sir Alex Ferguson won the race and brought Eric Cantona, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney to Old Trafford, with all three becoming Man United legends.
However, the Old Trafford side are always looking to sign high-profile players and have missed out on signing some superstars over the years.
10 stars who were on the verge of signing for Manchester United
virgil van dijk
Virgil van Dijk, now a Liverpool icon and arguably one of the best centre-backs of all time, was wanted at Old Trafford before moving to Anfield.
Manager Jose Mourinho wanted to make a major centre-back signing and shortlisted Van Dijk, Michael Keane and Victor Lindelof. Instead of spending big on the former Southampton Dutchman, United spent more than £30m on Lindelof from Benfica.
ronaldo
In 1996, at the age of 20, Ronaldo was making a name for himself at PSV Eindhoven and was enjoying himself and scoring goals in the Netherlands.
As a result, he became a sought after asset and Ferguson and others were keen to bring him to Manchester. Ronaldo was also offered £20m by United, but that was considered too high at the time and Barcelona signed the Brazilian star instead. He won the Ballon d’Or twice, in 1997 and 2002.
Ronaldinho
Another Brazilian icon who could have been a Manchester United player was Ronaldinho, who joined Ferguson in 2003 to find a successor to David Beckham.
Manchester United had been aiming to sign Ronaldinho from PSG, but signing the Brazilian dealt a blow to the Red Devils after Barcelona missed out on signing Beckham. However, United signed attackers that summer, with Cristiano Ronaldo moving to Manchester.
Ronaldinho vs Manchester record | |
game | 2 |
loss | 2 |
the goal | 1 |
assist | 1 |
rivaldo
Continuing the trend of Brazilian stars missing out on Manchester United, we arrive at Rivaldo. The Red Devils had just won the treble in 1999 and Ferguson wanted to sign a forward from Barcelona.
Rivaldo, who won the Ballon d’Or that year, did not have a good relationship with Barça manager Louis van Gaal, but United missed the opportunity to make a deal.
Patrick Vieira
One of Man United’s biggest rivals in the Premier League is Arsenal midfielder Patrick Vieira, with United actually making two attempts to sign the Frenchman from the Gunners.
Ferguson believed Vieira wanted to move to Old Trafford in 2001 and 2003, and there was talk of a £22m move after Beckham left for Real Madrid. Instead, Vieira signed a new contract to stay with Arsene Wenger.
eden hazard
Chelsea legend Eden Hazard looked set to sign with Man United in 2012 before problems with his agent arose.
The Blues paid Lille £32 million to sign the Belgian, but the deal with the Red Devils fell through after United refused to pay Hazard’s agent £6 million to finalize the deal.
Manchester United signed Shinji Kagawa from Borussia Dortmund in place of Hazard.
Cesc Fabregas
Cesc Fabregas, who had a spat with Ferguson at Old Trafford, could have worked for the Red Devils manager after trying to sign him from Barcelona in 2003.
Manchester United tried again under manager David Moyes in 2013, but two offers were rejected by the Camp Nou side, with Fabregas playing for Arsenal and Chelsea in the Premier League instead.
zinedine zidane
When Zinedine Zidane arrived from Bordeaux in 1996, Cantona urged Ferguson and Man United to bring him to Old Trafford.
Former United chairman Martin Edwards said the move fell through because Ferguson didn’t think Zidane was the player he needed at the time, and the Frenchman went on to star for Juventus and Real Madrid instead.
erling haaland
Current Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland could have been a no-brainer signing for the Red Devils during the 2019/20 winter transfer window.
The then manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjær, had known Haaland from his time at Molde, but despite talks of a move to Old Trafford, the Norwegian rejected Man United and instead signed for Borussia Dortmund.
alan shearer
Alan Shearer, the Premier League’s all-time top scorer, actually rejected a move to Manchester United twice. The first time was in 1992 when he joined Blackburn from Southampton, and the second time was when he joined Newcastle four years later.
Ferguson was personally involved in signing Shearer in 1996 and expected him to be in the race, but Shearer’s agent called the Man United manager to inform him of his decision to join Newcastle.
Gareth Bale
Welsh star Gareth Bale is one of the most decorated British players of all time, having won the Champions League five times with Real Madrid.
However, before moving to north London in 2007, there was talk of a £10m move, with the possibility of him signing for Man United instead of Tottenham. Manager Ferguson insisted that Saints, not Bale, were responsible for breaking the contract.
“It wasn’t the boy who turned us down,” Ferguson said. “It was Southampton.”