Below are 10 players that prove Zlatan Ibrahimovic wrong…
“Probably the biggest club I have played for”
Ever since joining Manchester United, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has come out with some killer quotes that fans of the club absolutely love.
Besides scoring in the Community Shield and at Bournemouth last week, Zlatan has built up the Manchester United brand to the hilt.
After heading home the winner against Leicester, Zlatan said: “This club is massive, probably the biggest club I have played for. The only one that compares is AC Milan.”
How could anyone say “no” to Manchester United?
Considering just how poor these days the Rossoneri are, combined with some of the clubs Zlatan played for (e.g. Barcelona, Juventus, PSG and Inter Milan), you feel the super Swedish striker was just playing up to Manchester United fans.
Before the Bournemouth game, Zlatan also gave a lengthy interview where he came out with another curious statement that was immediately ridiculed by fans of other clubs.
Zlatan told Geoff Shreeves of Sky Sports: “I don’t believe there is anyone who could say ‘no’ to Manchester United.”
Ramos, Ramsey, Shearer…
The graphic above was placed on the 101 Great Goals social media accounts and it immediately attracted plenty of controversy, after all, plenty of players have said “no” to Manchester United.
So, we have listed no less than 10 world class players that have rejected Manchester United, in fairly public fashion.
We suspect Zlatan would have said no to Manchester United over the past few years and it is only now, with Jose Mourinho in charge and a slew of top class players brought in this summer, that the dynamic has changed again…
1. Paul Gascoigne
Paul Gascougne & Sir Alex Ferguson
Spurs and Manchester United battled for Gazza when it became clear he would be leaving Newcastle. In the end Tottenham bagged the future England star by upping their personal terms in an anecdote that Gascoigne still tells to this day.
Gazza has also lamented this decision with Sir Alex Ferguson going on to achieving so much success at Manchester United, despite failing to land one of the biggest talents in English football over the past few decades.
2. Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer v Manchester United
Sir Alex Ferguson made two attempts to sign Alan Shearer. When the England striker left Southampton and then when he departed Blackburn. The first time, Jack Walker’s riches won over.
And, the second time, Shearer’s boyhood heroes Newcastle secured the transfer. Publicly, Shearer has never regretted either move. And, United fans got to sign about Ole Gunner Solskjaer, who was a massive success at Old Trafford.
3. Ronaldinho
Ronaldinho v Manchester United
The summer of 2003 was dominated by where Ronaldinho would end up with his time at PSG coming to an end. At the same time, David Beckham was departing Old Trafford having come up through the ranks.
Beckham was initially linked with Barcelona but the Catalans failed to sign the England captain and instead moved for Ronaldinho.
The Brazilian was an enormous success at the Nou Camp and Beckham eventually claimed silverware at the Bernabeu. Manchester United fans were left to wonder what might have been with Ronaldinho.
4. Aaron Ramsey
The Man United website even confirmed a fee agreement for Ramsey
Considering how Ramsey’s career has panned out at Arsenal, it is somewhat ironic that the Welsh midfielder chose the Gunners over Manchester United due to Arsene Wenger.
Once again questions have been raised in recent days about how Wenger manages Ramsey, a player that suffered a long term injury and still struggles with niggles on a regular basis.
Ramsey continues to be linked with Manchester United, long after he rejected the advances of Sir Alex Ferguson when at Cardiff.
5. Sergio Ramos
If Sergio Ramos had joined Manchester United…
One of the transfer sagas of last summer was Sergio Ramos being linked with Manchester United.
In the end, the Spanish defender stayed and signed a new contract at Real Madrid.
The chances of joining Louis van Gaal’s Manchester United always seemed remote and over the past three years plenty of big-name players used the club to get better deals elsewhere. For example Cesc Fabregas and Thiago Alcantara.
6. Steven Gerrard
Steven Gerrard in a Manchester United shirt
Legendary Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed in his autobiography that he tried to sign the former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard.
There were moves when Gerrard was coming through the ranks and also during the summer of 2005 when Chelsea were heavily linked with the Liverpool legend.
In retrospect, seeing Gerrard in a Manchester United shirt, just wouldn’t have looked right!
7. Thomas Muller
LVG & Muller
A feature of Louis van Gaal’s tenure at Old Trafford was links with Bayern Munich’s biggest players.
Whilst Manchester United did get Bastian Schweinsteiger, they could not prise Thomas Muller away.
It wasn’t bad news for Muller himself, as he went on to become the highest paid player at Bayern Munich…
8. Karim Benzema
Karim Benzema v Man United
According to the French striker, Manchester United approached Lyon every summer between 2008 and 2011 for his signature.
Had Manchester United secured Benzema and his club and international team mate Raphael Varane, perhaps the last few years would not have been such a struggle?
9. Gareth Bale
Gareth Bale in a Manchester United shirt
Manchester United tried to gazump Real Madrid for Bale, according to reports following the then world record transfer.
And, during his time at Real Madrid, Manchester United have made plenty of overtures to Bale, at any sign of unhappiness.
As it stands, with Manchester United splashing massive amounts of cash, Bale to Old Trafford still feels like a transfer that could happen in the future.
10. James Rodriguez
James at Porto
In 2012, whilst at Porto, Manchester United made an offer for James worth 40 million pounds but this was rejected by the Portuguese side.
A year later, the Colombian left Porto for Monaco and from there to Real Madrid.
Intriguingly, Manchester United could buy James Rodriguez in this summer transfer window, but it doesn’t feel like they want to…
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