During his illustrious tenure at Old Trafford, Sir Alex Ferguson made some of the most remarkable signings in Premier League history, but there were instances when he missed out on key targets.
In his bestselling book ‘Leading’, the iconic manager recounted several players he aimed to sign for Manchester United but ultimately could not secure.
In the chapter titled “the ones that got away,” Ferguson reflects on his pursuit of then-Marseille forward Didier Drogba, who later became a legend at Chelsea. He stated, “We went to check him out but the club wanted £25 million and Chelsea moved in for the kill before we had made up our minds,” illustrating how competitive the transfer market can be. Notably, Ferguson would end up signing Wayne Rooney at a young age for £27 million shortly thereafter.
Petr Cech, another player who would shine at Chelsea, also caught Ferguson’s eye, yet a key concern arose. “I went to see him in 2003 for Rennes,” Ferguson reveals. “We thought Petr was a bit young for the bruisers in the Premier League.”
Here are five additional players discussed in the book:
Thomas Muller: “He was just ten years old when we heard about him. We had him watched, but the next day he committed to Bayern Munich.”
Ronaldo Nazario: “We aimed to sign the Brazilian striker from Cruzeiro in 1994, but we could not secure a work permit, and he ended up at PSV Eindhoven.”
Sergio Agüero: “His agent was asking for a sum we were not willing to pay.”
Lucas Moura: “We offered £35 million, but Paris Saint-Germain acquired him for £45 million.”
Raphael Varane: “In 2011, I raced to Lille to pursue him, but Zinedine Zidane heard about this and managed to take him to Real Madrid before we could act.”
A decade later, Varane joined Manchester United from Real Madrid for approximately £34 million. In discussing the near miss for Varane, Ferguson wrote, “David Gill was negotiating the finer points of the contract with Lens, Varane’s club, when Zinedine Zidane somehow managed to scoop him up for Real Madrid right under our noses.”
He added, “I don’t think Jose Mourinho, who was overseeing Real Madrid at the time, had even seen Varane play.”
