Sir Alex: Seven players Man Utd missed out (including Chelsea, Arsenal and Man City stars)

Sir Alex Ferguson opened up on the players Man Utd didn't sign

SIR ALEX FERGUSON has named seven players he missed out on as manager of Manchester United.

 

The revelations come following the release of his new new book, Leading, this week.

Petr Cech joined Arsenal in the summer from Chelsea but he may not have even made it to Stamford Bridge in 2004 had Fergie been convinced of his Premier League suitability.

He said: "I went to see him (Cech) in 2003 for Rennes. We thought Petr was a bit young for the bruisers in the Premier League."

Didier Drogba was making a name for his himself in Ligue 1 with Marseille but United's dithering allowed Chelsea to steal the Ivorian.

Ferguson added: "We went to check him out [at Marseille] but the club wanted £25 million and Chelsea moved in for the kill before we had made up our minds."

 

Thomas Muller was heavily linked with a move to United in the summer but according to Ferguson, they had a chance to get him 16 years ago.

"He was a ten-year-old when we heard about him," Sir Alex said.

"We had him watched and the following day he committed himself to Bayern Munich."

Ronaldo was making headlines in Brazil but paperwork prevented a possible move to Old Trafford.

Ferguson said: "We wanted to sign the Brazilian striker from Cruzeiro in 1994, but we could not get a work permit and he went to PSV Eindhoven."

United's thriftiness was their neighbours gain as they rejected the chance to sign Argentine striker Sergio Aguero.

 

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

Qatari-backed PSG gazumped United's offer for Lucas Moura.

He said: "We offered £35 million but Paris Saint-Germain signed him for £45 million." 

The intervention of a French hero stole Raphael Varane from United.

Ferguson said: "In 2011 I hurtled down to Lille. Zinedine Zidane got wind of this and somehow scooped him up for Real Madrid."