When the news broke on Monday evening that Liverpool were interested in signing Manchester United target Cody Gakpo, people were shocked.
About an hour later they had the deal all wrapped up and people were less surprised. At this point, it’s just kind of what Liverpool do with their transfers. No messing about.
Unlike United, for instance, who do really like to um and ah and deliberate over potential moves, right up until the moment their rivals are snatching them up from under their feet.
This isn’t the first time that Manchester United have dropped the ball when it comes to transfers. And you can bet your bottom dollar that it won’t be the last, particularly given the fact that the Glazers are still somehow in town.
But who has been their all-time biggest fumble? That, my friends, is a question we can only answer together.
Let’s start at number eight and work our way down a rather incredible list of transfer bottlings, shall we? Yeah, let’s do that.
Believe it or not, Manchester United had scouted Didier Drogba but Marseille wanted £25 million, according to Sir Alex Ferguson. As would become typical of them over the years that followed, the club twiddled their thumbs and allowed Chelsea to snap up the Ivorian striker for themselves.
What a signing he could have been.
Like Drogba, Arjen Robben was the subject of interest from Manchester United before Chelsea eventually secured his talents for themselves.
Robben was given a tour of the training ground and spoke face-to-face with Ferguson but no deal was struck. The flying Dutchman admitted that he was ready and eager to move to Old Trafford but no call came after he returned to PSV Eindhoven.
Chelsea did make an offer and Robben moved to London in 2004, where he played three seasons before joining Real Madrid. According to Rio Ferdinand, Robben actually turned down a transfer to United because “he didn’t like the smell” of the training ground.
Not sure we’re buying that one, Rio.
Week in and week out, year after year, you couldn’t read a single transfer gossip column without seeing Wesley Sneijder’s name pop up in connection with Manchester United.
For all the world it seemed as though it would happen but the leaves kept falling…
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