England captain Harry Kane is set to reject a summer move to Manchester United, according to a report in the Mirror. But he won’t be the first high-profile player to turn down a transfer to Old Trafford since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013. Far from it, in fact.
Ferguson left Manchester after establishing himself as one of the greatest managers of all time, winning 13 Premier League titles and two Champions Leagues in 26 years, but it’s been downhill for the club ever since.
United have mostly struggled since his departure, with a number of managers failing to bring glory back to the club in spite of heavy spending. It is now five years since their last trophy.
Their recruitment has come under particular criticism, as despite spending a hefty amount of money on new arrivals, the vast majority of signings have been disappointing.
Old Trafford was once one of the Premier destinations for world-class talent, but the lack of success and mismanagement has meant that some top players have rejected a move to United in favour of a better offer in recent years.
We’ve picked out nine players who chose not to join the Red Devils since Ferguson left the club in the summer of 2013.
Gareth Bale
When Gareth Bale was set to leave Tottenham in 2013, there was only one destination he was ever going to end up at and that was Real Madrid.
However, that didn’t stop others from trying, and upon his arrival at the club, David Moyes wanted the Welsh superstar to be his first signing.
United offered more money than Real Madrid, but even the lure of playing with compatriot Ryan Giggs wasn’t enough to convince Bale, and he made a world-record move to the Santiago Bernabeu.
“I wanted Gareth Bale to be my first signing at Manchester United. But it was already down the road a bit with Real Madrid. I tried to hijack it. I tried to get him,” Moyes stated in 2020.
“Manchester United offered more money than Real Madrid. They offered more money to the player.
“We did…