5 world-class players Manchester United almost signed in the past
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.
David de Gea says he has been doing all he can to talk Cesc Fabregas into joining him at Manchester United: bit.ly/SU4KYQ
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.
Transfer ban kept @AntoGriezmann from leaving @atletienglish for @ManUtd - former agent
bit.ly/2vp7vt2 https://t.co/G8BJ9YKNgC
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.