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Manchester United completed the signings of Jadon Sancho, Raphael Varane and Cristiano Ronaldo at the start of the season, ending multiple long-term positional deficiencies.
United have chased Jadon Sancho for the past three seasons, after Sancho being endlessly linked with the club. There were reports of how Borussia Dortmund turned down multiple bids from the club despite Sancho having agreed personal terms with them.
United finally completed Varane's transfer as well. There were reports of him almost joining the Red Devils before Real Madrid came calling for the former RC Lens centre-back in 2011.
Like Varane in 2011, United came close to completing deals for multiple world class players. But they were not able to push the deal over the line. Therefore, let's take a look at
5 world-class players Manchester United almost signed in the past
#5 Cesc Fabregas
In 2014, Manchester United manager David Moyes attempted to bring Cesc Fabregas to the Theatre of Dreams from FC Barcelona. He wanted to sign Fabregas in order to place the foundations for his newly inherited team.
The Spanish midfielder left Arsenal in 2011 to join Barcelona. He went on to have two successive seasons playing second fiddle to the likes of Xavi and Andres Iniesta.
According to the Manchester Evening News, David Moyes was under the impression that Fabregas would be a United player following the summer 2013 transfer window. However, Tata Martino, the new head coach at Barcelona, convinced him to stay for another season, stopping the move from materializing.
Fabregas ended up leaving Barcelona the following season to join Chelsea, where he enjoyed winning two Premier League titles and a Europa League title.
#4 Antoine Griezmann
Following the departure of Memphis Depay, Manchester United identified Antoine Griezmann as the ideal candidate to add to their forward-line for the 2017 summer transfer window.
According to the Independent, the French forward had agreed personal terms with Manchester United and was set to leave Atletico Madrid.
However, the Spanish giants were given a transfer ban for breaking laws regarding signing of minors. This meant that they would be unable to make any signings in that window. Griezmann decided to stay loyal to Atletico, taking into consideration their unpleasant situation.
Following two more seasons at Atletico, Griezmann spent three seasons at Barcelona, where he made little impact. Barcelona sent Griezmann back to Atletico at the start of the current season, where he hopes to rejuvenate his club career.
#3 Arjen Robben
At the age of 20, Arjen Robben began to attract attention from big football clubs after eye catching performances for PSV Eindhoven. He scored 21 goals and made 21 assists in 75 appearances for the club.
During the summer of 2004, Sir Alex Ferguson tried to bring the winger to Manchester United.
According to 90min Football, Robben spent an evening having dinner with Ferguson in Manchester. He was also given a tour around the United training complex. However, once Robben returned to PSV, there was no further contact from United, so he decided to take Chelsea's offer and made the switch to London.
The Dutch talisman went on to have a glorious career. After Chelsea, he moved to Real Madrid and later Bayern Munich. He won two Premier League titles, one La Liga title, eight Bundesliga titles and a Champions League title.
#2 Toni Kroos
Towards the end of the 2013-14 season, Toni Kroos was looking for a move away from Bayern Munich, desiring a change in his career. After an abysmal start to his first season at Manchester United, David Moyes decided to pursue the signing of Kroos.
According to Bleacher Report, Kroos revealed that Moyes personally met him and the pair went on to virtually agree a contract. However, Moyes' season went from bad to worse, and he was eventually let go by United. Moyes' successor Louis Van Gaal was not interested in signing the German midfielder, therefore the move failed to go through.
Kroos ended up signing for Real Madrid in 2014 after winning the FIFA World Cup with Germany. He is still enjoying a fabulous career with the Galacticos, accumulating two La Liga titles and three Champions League titles.
#1 Ronaldinho
Ronaldinho was perhaps the biggest one that got away. United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was a big fan of the Brazilian playmaker and did everything he could to bring him to Old Trafford in the summer of 2003.
In an article on the official Manchester United website, Paul Scholes said that the signing of Ronaldinho was almost announced. He was almost assigned a squad number as well.
However, Ronaldinho himself revealed that the President of FC Barcelona did enough to convince him to change his mind. He convinced him at the last minute to join the Catalan giants from PSG.
It goes without saying that he made a fantastic decision, winning the Ballon d'Or and multiple La Liga titles with Barcelona. Missing out on Ronaldinho prompted United to sign young Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo, and the rest is history.
