10 Huge Names That Sir Alex Ferguson Almost Signed For Manchester United
During Sir Alex Ferguson’s time as boss at Manchester United, we made plenty of big-name signings, but there were also the ones that got away.
Here are 10 huge names that were close to Old Trafford under Sir Alex.
It’s painful to hear how close we were to seeing some of these players in a United shirt…
Ronaldinho
In 2003, after the departure of David Beckham, Sir Alex pursued the signature of eventual 2-time World Player of the Year winner, Ronaldinho, and was very close to landing him.
The deal was so advanced that a deal had been agreed with PSG, and Ronaldinho himself has admitted that he was on the verge of signing:
“It almost happened with United. It was a matter of 48 hours, but Sandro Rosell had told me way before I got the offer: ‘If I become Barça president, will you come?’ I said yes. It was a quick negotiation. I told the English I had chosen Barça.”
Zinedine Zidane
Before Zinedine Zidane became a legend at Real Madrid, he was briefly a target for United, in the mid-1990s, before his move to Juventus from Bordeaux.
Former chairman, Martin Edwards, previously revealed:
“When Zidane was at Bordeaux, Les Kershaw, the chief scout, was telling me we should be interested in him and I mentioned it to Alex. Alex said that Eric [Cantona] had also mentioned Zidane to him but Alex felt Zidane played in the same position as Eric. He felt that, if he had brought Zidane in, it may have affected Eric’s position, so he stuck with Eric.”
Eden Hazard
In 2012, Lille’s Eden Hazard was one of the hottest prospects in European football, and Sir Alex Ferguson tried to bring him to Old Trafford, but Hazard opted to join Chelsea, following their Champions League triumph.
Hazard himself once recalled:
“I was in advanced contact with both clubs and I spoke to both coaches. When they (Chelsea) won the Champions League, I told myself: ‘Why not Chelsea?’ The team is young and I have a better chance to play there.”
Paul Gascoigne
Paul Gascoigne was another near-miss for Sir Alex at United. In 1988, Ferguson thought he had secured Gascoigne’s signature from Newcastle United. However, Tottenham swooped in at the last minute, offering to buy a house for Gascoigne’s family, a gesture that swayed him to move to London instead.
Ferguson once said:
“He promised to sign for us and I went on holiday. I got a phone call from the front desk from Martin Edwards saying he’d signed for Tottenham. He signed for Tottenham because they bought his mother a house for £80,000 and, dearie me, I couldn’t believe it, you know. He was a fantastic player.”
Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer famously turned Sir Alex and United down in 1996 in favour of a move to his boyhood club, Newcastle.
Shearer met with both Fergie and Newcastle boss Kevin Keegan, before making his decision. He previously claimed:
“I had to go and make a decision. At one point, I was going to Manchester United. But then, I sat down and I got a call from Kevin who asked to see me a day or two later. And I thought: ‘You know what, I’m going to go back to Newcastle. It was the club I always supported and wanted to play for.”
Gareth Bale
In 2007, Ferguson tried to sign a teenage Gareth Bale from Southampton, but Tottenham beat United to his signature, following a bigger offer.
Ferguson previously spoke on the failed bid:
“We tried to sign him from Southampton as a 17-year-old, but it never got to the stage of talking to the player. They didn’t accept our offer and I think they must have alerted Tottenham.”
Patrick Kluivert
United tried to sign Dutch striker Patrick Kluivert from Milan in 1998. They had agreed a £9 million fee with AC Milan, but Kluivert wasn’t interested in hearing what Ferguson had to say.
Ferguson reacted badly at the time, saying:
“Maybe he doesn’t know how big a club Manchester United is. I’m surprised he didn’t give himself the opportunity to speak to us.”
Arjen Robben
Before Arjen Robben’s move from PSV to Chelsea in 2004, Sir Alex was close to signing the Dutch winger for Manchester United, and even met with the player.
Robben himself previously claimed:
“I had a very good conversation with him (Ferguson) over dinner in Manchester and we spoke about football and life. I also went and had a good look around the training ground and everything was good, but after I went back to PSV nothing happened.”
Manuel Neuer
In 2011, Schalke’s Manuel Neuer was Sir Alex’s top choice to replace Edwin Van Der Sar as United’s number 1, and he was confident a deal could be agreed. However, goalkeeper coach, Eric Steel, persuaded him to go for David De Gea instead.
Ferguson previously admitted:
“My problem was Eric, because he was adamant that we must take De Gea. I said ‘but Eric, the boy Neuer is the complete unit; he’s mature, his physique is unbelievable’, and he says ‘yeah, but in three years’ time, De Gea will be better’.”
Raphael Varane
As we all know, Raphael Varane eventually signed for United in 2021, but he almost joined 10 years earlier, as a teenager from Lens, before opting for Real Madrid instead.
In his 2015 book titled ‘leading’, Sir Alex Ferguson stated:
“In 2011, I hurtled down on the train from Euston to Lille to sign the young French defender Raphael Varane. David Gill was getting into the finer points of the contract with Lens, Varane’s club, when Zinedine Zidane got wind of this and somehow scooped him up for Real Madrid from under our noses.”