5 world class players who rejected Manchester United

Manchester United are one of the biggest clubs in the world and it is hard for any footballer to reject a chance to play in a historic club like United. However, there have been some truly world class footballers who have rejected the opportunity to ply their trade at Old Trafford.

All the footballers on this list have gone on to achieve great things in their career. 2 of these players on this list are currently playing at Real Madrid, while the other 3 are true legends of the sport. Without much ado, let us take a look at 5 world class players who rejected Manchester United:

#5 Alan Shearer

One of the best if not the best striker in Premier League history, Alan Shearer rejected Manchester United to join Kenny Dalglish’s Blackburn Rovers side in 1992. The then Southampton striker was already hot property, and United were said to be extremely interested in signing the prolific striker.

In an earlier interview with FourFourTwo, Shearer revealed why he rejected Manchester United:

“There was interest from Manchester United, but I was told I had to wait three or four weeks for them to get the money together. I felt if they really wanted me then they would come and get me immediately,” he said.

"I had already spoken to Blackburn and told Kenny Dalglish, Ray Harford and Jack Walker that I would give them an answer in three of four days – and my answer was yes.” The legendary striker had a more than decent career at Ewood park even guiding Balckburn to the Premier League title in 1994/95 season.

United once again rekindled their interest in Shearer when he decided to leave Blackburn, but he opted for a £15 million move to hometown club Newcastle United. Manchester United and Alan Shearer were just not meant to be together.

#4 Karim Benzema

Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema is part of the vaunted BBC front three at Real Madrid but if Manchester United had their way, he might well have been plying his trade alongside the likes of Rooney, Pogba, Mkhitaryan and Martial.

The Frenchman was one of the world’s hottest prospects in 2009 and he revealed that he rejected the likes of Manchester United, Inter and Barcelona before sealing a £30 million move to Madrid.

Speaking after his signing in 2009, Benzema said:

“There were quite a few clubs that contacted me, like Manchester [United], Inter and Barcelona, but I decided to come here. Real Madrid are an excellent club. I've dreamt about playing here since I was 15 years old. “

“Florentino [Pérez] spoke to me about the team and the project that he wanted to create. I wanted to play at Real Madrid anyway so he didn't have to convince me of hardly anything."

While the 29-year-old has his detractors, there is no denying the fact that Benzema is a top quality forward. It would have been interesting to see how the Frenchman would have coped with the demands of Premier League football.

#3 Steven Gerrard

Liverpool’s icon, messiah, hero and probably their greatest ever player could have been a hated rival if he had accepted the 7-year contract Manchester United had offered him early during his career.

Gerrard himself admitted that he has been subject to bids from plenty of top clubs like Manchester United, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Inter Milan. Speaking after the infamous ‘top top player’ jibe by Alex Ferguson in bis autobiography, Gerrard revealed:

"I went on trial at Manchester United when I was 13 and had a letter from them wanting to sign me on a seven-year-deal, I’m a huge fan of Alex Ferguson and what he’s done in the game is fantastic, I was generally a little bit gutted when I read that, the reaction of the papers, when he said I wasn’t a top, top player. But I won’t lose sleep over it, everyone is entitled to their opinion.”

"He tried to sign me in early 2002/2003, he tried to sign me again to play for United, I obviously refused, so I can’t really take it to heart too much. But I’m a bit gutted because I’m a big fan of his."

Steven Gerrard at Manchester United. Wow! That transfer could have probably changed the history of the Premier League. While Gerrard would undoubtedly have won the Premier League at United, the satisfaction of playing for his boyhood club and Liverpool fans far outweigh any trophy he might have won elsewhere.

#2 Gareth Bale

Gareth Bale is undoubtedly one of the best players in world football at the moment, but before he was tormenting defences at Tottenham and Real Madrid, he had made a name for himself as an exceptional prodigy from Southampton’s youth academy.

The former Spurs superstar revealed that Sir Alex Ferguson tried to sign him in 2007. Speaking in an interview dated 2012 to Match of the Day magazine, Bale revealed why he rejected United to join Tottenham.

“Man United were interested in me but I wanted to play first-team football, I thought I had a better chance of getting that at Tottenham. The manager at the time, Martin Jol, told me he wanted me to go straight into the first team.”

Manchester United have time and again been linked with a huge move for Bale, but, it looks like the Welshman and Red Devils are destined to go their own separate ways.

#1 Ronaldinho

Barcelona legend Ronaldinho could have been wowing Premier League audiences with his tricks and flicks if Sandro Rossel had not won the election at Barcelona in 2003. The Brazilian almost single-handedly changed Barcelona’s fortunes and made them one of the greatest clubs in the modern era, but things could have been very different.

Speaking in an interview dated 2014, Ronaldinho revealed how his close friendship with Rossel led to him rejecting a move to the Premier League giants:

"Everything was beautiful and happened fast. A great friend of mine was about to become a part of the Barcelona board: Sandro Rosell, before the offers came, he had asked me if I would play in Barcelona when they won the election and became the presidents, and I had said 'Yes'.

"I was almost on my way to Manchester United and only the details needed to be put onto that deal. But in the last minute Rosell called me to tell me they would win the election. That made everything happen fast.

"I wanted to play in Barcelona. When I signed, I didn’t feel pressure, I felt joy. I had the chance that all of the players wanted, to play in a great club like Barcelona."

Manchester United fans and probably even a vast majority of Real Madrid fans will be cursing the fact that Ronaldinho rejected Manchester United in 2003.