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Premier League giants Manchester United were a delight to watch under Sir Alex Ferguson's management. The Scotsman won the league 13 times with the Red Devils, a feat that remains a distant dream for many.
United played an attacking and direct brand of football under Sir Alex, achieving a lot of success in the process. Since his retirement after the 2012-13 season, the club has struggled to win silverware on a regular basis across all competitions.
Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United were ruthless in the Premier League
Sir Alex Ferguson signed some top footballers during his time at United. This includes the likes of Ruud van Nistelrooy, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Robin Van Persie, Michael Carrick and many others. These players went on to help in achieving success for the Red Devils.
Having signed a number of world-class players in his career, there were times when Sir Alex Ferguson failed to sign some top players. Here, we take a look at the top players the Scotsman was unsuccessful in signing who went on to become big players at other English clubs.
#5 Sergio Aguero
Sergio Aguero has legendary status at Manchester City due to his enormous contributions to the club. During his 10 seasons with the English club, he scored 184 goals in 275 league appearances.
He's the fourth-highest goal-scorer and highest non-English goal-scorer in the history of the league. Having signed for Manchester City in 2011 from Atletico Madrid, Sir Alex Ferguson had the opportunity to sign Aguero a year ago.
But the Scotsman felt the fee demanded by the Argentine's agent was pretty high. Aguero later went on to sign for City and scored a last-gasp goal against Queens Park Rangers. His goal won City the game 3-2, denying Sir Alex from winning the league title in the 2011-12 season.
#4 Petr Cech
Sir Alex Ferguson had a good eye for goalkeepers, having signed some great goalkeepers like Peter Schmeichel, Edwin Van der Sar and David De Gea. Having said that, it was difficult for him to replace Schmeichel when the Danish goalkeeper left after the 1998-99 season.
It then became a task for Sir Alex to find an appropriate replacement. United found Tim Howard and Roy Carroll but they didn't suffice to cause that well.
Petr Cech was doing a great job at Rennes and was being monitored by Sir Alex Ferguson. The Scotsman thought that the Czech goalkeeper would struggle with the physical demands of the Premier League. He was proven wrong as Cech went on to become a massive player in the league, first with Chelsea and then for Arsenal.
#3 David Silva
Another former Manchester City player on this list is David Silva. The Spanish midfielder joined the club in 2010 from Valencia and went on to spend 10 years with them.
During his time at City, Silva won the Premier League four times. Using his amazing craft and vision, the Spaniard was instrumental in creating goal-scoring chances at regular intervals.
Sir Alex Ferguson had the chance to sign Silva before he joined City when he played for Valencia. The former Manchester United manager was of the opinion that the creative midfielder lacked the work-rate and defensive edge to his game.
#2 Didier Drogba
The Premier League has seen some wonderful strikers play and Didier Drogba is surely one of them. The Ivory Coast striker was a phenomenal watch during his time at Chelsea.
He scored 104 goals in 254 league appearances for the Blues. He had the ability to score goals from almost anywhere in and around the box, using his tall and strong physique. Drogba remains Chelsea's fourth highest goal-scorer of all-time.
Sir Alex Ferguson had the chance to sign the Ivorian when he used to play for Marseille. Manchester United were a tad late on as Chelsea swooped in quickly to sign Drogba in 2004. Sir Alex wouldn't have much of a regret on this one as he signed Wayne Rooney a month later and turned out fine for the Red Devils.
#1 Frank Lampard
Another former Chelsea player on this list is their legend Frank Lampard. Not enough words can suffice the greatness of the English midfielder, especially during his time with the Blues.
Lampard joined Chelsea from West Ham United in 2001 and played for more than a decade. With his amazing and timely run in the box, the Englishman turned into a deadly goal-scorer from midfield.
During his West Ham days, Sir Alex had the chance to sign him for Manchester United. Unfortunately, the Scotsman remained uncertain for too long and their chance slipped away.
