Sir Alex tried to convince me to join Manchester United and 'go to war' with Wenger: Samir Nasri

Chandan
Samir Nasri won the Premier League twice with Manchester City

Manchester City midfielder Samir Nasri revealed recently that he secretly met with Sir Alex Ferguson in 2011 and was close to joining their cross-town rivals Manchester United. The meeting took place at a covert location in Paris and Sir Alex asked Nasri to ‘go to war’ with Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger in order to leave the North London club. However, he joined Manchester City in 2011 for a fee of £25million to play under the then boss Roberto Mancini.

Nasri expressed that he was not comfortable with the idea of “going to War” and chose to join City instead. He told Beln Sports: “We met with Sir Alex in Paris, in a hidden place, out of sight, so as not to fuel the rumours.

“But there was one thing that was a problem; I was asked to go to war with Arsenal to be able to join. I could not see myself doing it, especially with Arsene Wenger,” he added.

“After Man City showed their interest. Mancini called me every day during the holidays. I then decided that they really wanted me.”

Why Nasri chose Manchester City over United

Nasri had a barren trophy spell in Arsenal. But as soon as he made the switch to City, he became part of the squad that has won the Premier League twice (2011/12 and 2013/14) and the Capital One Cup in 2014. Nasri’s statements revealed that he had no regrets for not considering a position among the Red Devils. He said,

“Manchester City was the first club to show interest. I had some doubts about the evolution of the club. Then I thought they really wanted me.

“They were about to sign [Sergio] Aguero and there was already [David] Silva, [Mario] Balotelli, [Carlos] Tevez. I had a discussion with my agents. They asked me if I wanted to make history or be a player like any other at United."

"I said, “Go ahead”. I won the title in my first season, so my choice was the right one."

Quick Links

Edited by Staff Editor