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“Meeting Alex Ferguson was amazing – but I don’t regret snubbing Man Utd transfer” | Soccer

“Meeting Alex Ferguson was amazing – but I don’t regret snubbing Man Utd transfer” | Soccer

Sir Alex Ferguson, legendary Manchester United manager (Photos: Getty)

Sir Alex Ferguson managed to convince some of the world’s best players to join Manchester United, but was snubbed by football icon Edgar Davids.

The Dutch legend was lucky enough to move to Manchester in 1996 and even met ‘lovely’ Fergie before an eventual move to Old Trafford.

By this point, Ferguson had begun to build United into England’s best and most successful team, winning their first of 13 Premier League titles in 1993.

Davids was one of football’s biggest stars in the 1990s, helping a great Ajax team win three Eredivisie titles and the Champions League.

He also became a fan favorite as one of the most skilled and recognizable players on the planet, often dominating opponents while sporting dreadlocked hair and goggles.

Ferguson clearly pulled out all the stops to recruit Davids, who described a conversation they had as “one of the most incredible experiences I’ve had in my entire career.”

But his strong desire to play in Serie A eventually led Davids to join AC Milan in the summer of 1996.

Edgar Davids in action against Manchester United (Photo: Getty)

“When I left Ajax in 1996, I had a good chance of going to Manchester United,” said the former Dutch midfielder. PariMGM.

“I had a conversation with Sir Alex Ferguson and it was one of the most incredible experiences I’ve had in my entire career. He was funny, charming, intelligent – ​​basically everything you wanted .

“The big guys were in Serie A and that’s where I wanted to go at that time of my career. That’s the main reason why I chose to go to AC Milan.

He was one of the most talented players of his generation (Photo: Getty)

“I don’t regret not going to Manchester United. Since then I have seen Sir Alex again and we had a good laugh about it all and there are still the same good feelings between us.

Davids suffered a horrific broken leg during a disappointing spell at Milan, but re-established himself as one of the world’s best players during his subsequent seven-year spell at Juventus, helping the club win three Serie A titles.

Spells at Barcelona, ​​Inter Milan and Tottenham followed for Davids, who had won 74 caps for the Netherlands by the time he hung up his boots in 2010.

Towards the end of his impressive playing career, Davids was named by Brazilian legend Pelé as one of the 125 greatest living footballers to mark Fifa’s 100th anniversary.

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