Five players Manchester United regret not signing

Manchester United v Chelsea - FA Cup Sixth Round
Sir Alex surely regrets not signing these players

Whenever the name 'Manchester United' pops up in our mind, we tend to think of a bunch of greats who have plied their trade for this club. Kudos to all those legends who have made the club the great footballing institution that it is today.

Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Eric Cantona, Cristiano Ronaldo, it is an endless list. But in spite of boasting such stars, the club has also passed on chances to sign some really exquisite footballers in the past. Of course, they have had their share of luminaries, but they also let go of a number of players; players who made their names elsewhere.

Let's look at five such footballers the club will always rue not signing.


#5 Frank Lampard

Chelsea v Bolton Wanderers - Premier League
Frank Lampard is one of the best midfielders the Premier League has ever seen

Frank Lampard Jr. has rightly gone down as one of the finest midfielders ever to set foot in the Premier League. 211 goals by a midfielder? Surely, that was unheard of before Super Frank touched that mark in his glorious Chelsea career.

Turning down the chance to sign a young Frank Lampard is one of those mistakes Sir Alex has clearly rued about. Expressing his regret, the gaffer said,

"He has been incredible. We looked at him at West Ham when he was a young player and I have to say I regret not doing any business. Where else could I get 200 goals from midfield?"

Following his move to Chelsea, the Englishman had a trophy-laden 14-year career, amassing 13 trophies before he joined New York City in 2014 and was sent on loan to Manchester City. Further to disappoint United fans, the Red Devils opted on moving for a certain Juan Sebastian Veron while a young Lampard joined Chelsea in 2001.

Undoubtedly, it would have been an absolute treat for the United fans to watch Lampard score those belters in the famous red shirt.

#4 David Silva

Manchester City v AFC Bournemouth - Premier League
David Silva is affectionately known as Merlin by his fans

This might come as a surprise to a number of United fans. What's more, you will be lost for words when I tell you the reason why Sir Alex Ferguson passed on the chance to sign him.

Fairly speaking, when it comes to recognizing the potential and polishing it, few can do it better than the former United gaffer. However, today when you see how influential David Silva has become at Etihad, the Scot will certainly experience a pang of regret.

Back in 2015, the Scot revealed the reason why he had a particular difficulty in envisaging the Spaniard playing as a No.10 at United. When asked about why he decided against signing Silva, he replied,

"We watched Silva a lot when he was at Valencia. My problem with that was you have to be very, very good to play in that position, because there’s no defensive duties for them. If you’re wanting to be really successful, everyone has to do their turn, has to work, you know? So I had a difficulty with that."

Putting it simply, Sir Alex was dubious about how the playmaker would contribute defensively - the very reason why he pulled out of the race as City landed him in 2010. And, it didn't take long for David Silva to make the Scot rue his decision, when he unleashed his magic in the famous 6-1 humbling of United on their own patch of grass an year later. Since then, he has also won a worthy place amongst the Premier League's greatest ever midfielders.

The United faithful might hate City, but there's no doubt each one of them would have loved to see 'Merlin' joining the red side of Manchester back then.

#3 Mesut Ozil

Arsenal v Watford - Premier League
Mesut Ozil was deemed 'too much left-footed' by the United scouts

Another great blunder!

Mesut Ozil was one of the most sought-after Germans following a sterling World Cup campaign in 2010. Having turned heads with impressive performances, the playmaker was the subject of a transfer battle between many heavyweights until Real Madrid snuck in and signed him for just £16.6 million.

Sir Alex revealed in his autobiography that Wayne Rooney had requested him to sign Mesut Ozil in 2010. The Scot, however, ignored his suggestion. Today when you see the legend that Ozil has become, Sir Alex might have had second thoughts about not heeding the English striker.

Samuel Luckhurst, MEN's Manchester United editor, also suggested that the United scouts deemed him 'too much left-footed'; a drawback they saw fit enough to opt against signing him

What's more, the Red Devils missed a second chance to lay their hands on the German when he joined Arsenal in 2013.

Then United boss David Moyes cited the presence of Shinji Kagawa and Wayne Rooney as to why he opted not to sign him, even after Ozil had proven his brilliance in the no.10 role at Real Madrid. But undoubtedly, the German would have been an upgrade and a better choice in contrast to the two United players in question.

Imagine a 4-1-3-2 with Ozil in the hole behind Rooney and RvP. How good they could have been is something we can only guess.

#2 Sergio Aguero

Manchester City v Newcastle United - Premier League
Sergio Aguero is one of the most consistent strikers of his age

Back in 2015, Sir Alex Ferguson revealed another story that might have United fans groaning about the gaffer's reluctance on splashing the cash.

Sergio Aguero signed for a club record £38 million deal in 2011, apparently, a sum United were against shelling out for the Argentinian.

In his new book, Leading, the Scot confirmed his decision to go against brokering a deal for Aguero as he wrote,

"His agent was demanding a price we were not prepared to pay."

Needless to say, this rejection has become another fatal mistake seeing how his Man City transfer has panned out. Aguero has scored goals with aplomb for the Citizens and currently holds the honour as their all-time leading goalscorer.

34,17,28,35,30,33 and 24. Those are the number of goals he has notched per season since joining the Citizens. He has been one of the most consistent strikers of his age - an important factor the United marksmen have critically lacked for the most part since the start of the decade. Come to think of it, the 29-year-old has also hurt the Red Devils many times on derby days.

Sergio Aguero is definitely a player Manchester United should have snapped up back then.

#1 Zinedine Zidane

Juventus v Lazio X
Zinedine Zidane is one of the greatest grandmasters of the game
Give me 10 logs of wood and Zidane and I will win you the Champions League.

Sir Alex dishes out praises moderately, but have you seen him regarding anyone this highly? Debatable. Now that he has said such a thing, who knows, the gaffer could have won perhaps added another two Champions League medals with Zidane in his starting XI.

Scholes, Zidane, Giggs, Keane, Beckham, Cantona. As sweet as it sounds, that music was never heard at Old Trafford.

Ex-United chairman Martin Edwards revealed how Ferguson passed on the chance to sign Zidane in 1996 when the Frenchman was looking for a way out of Bordeaux.

"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."

“Having gone over to France to persuade Eric to re-sign for us, after the Crystal Palace incident [when Cantona was banned for eight months after clashing with a football fan at Selhurst Park in 1995], he felt that, if he had brought Zidane in, it may have affected Eric's position, so he stuck with Eric."

King Eric retired at just 30 a year later while the mercurial Frenchman had already pledged his loyalty to Juventus. Coming to his achievements, do we even need to discuss them now?

Also, the Frenchman expressed his regret at not lining up alongside United great Paul Scholes in his career. Had that turned into reality, we can only imagine what a deadly combo they would have formed!

Quick Links

Edited by Rahul Venkat