Man United legend reveals how Sir Alex Ferguson beat rivals to his signature in 'four days'
Former centre-back Nemanja Vidic has revealed how a single phone call from Sir Alex Ferguson influenced his decision to join Manchester United in January 2006 from Spartak Moscow for £7 million.
Vidic featured in 300 games for the Mancunian giants, making him the seventh overseas player with the most appearances for the club. He ranks 59th in the all-time ranking.
He spent eight years at Old Trafford, winning five Premier League titles, three Football League Cups (now the Carabao Cup), five FA Community Shields, the FIFA Club World Cup, and the UEFA Champions League.
His partnership with retired England international Rio Ferdinand is widely regarded as one of the best-ever centre-back pairings in the history of the English top flight.
However, things could have turned out differently, as he also spoke to rivals Liverpool and Aston Villa before his switch to Old Trafford.
He told The Overlap: “We (Rafa Benitez) talked, maybe once or twice, but nothing really happened for two to three weeks.
“Obviously, David O’Leary also wanted to bring me in at Aston Villa. He was the one, but they had an issue with the money – the fee for the club.
“Fergie just called me once and said, ‘Do you want to play for Man United? ‘ I said, ‘Yes,’ and the deal was done in four days.”
Liverpool and Aston Villa would come to regret missing out on his signature as he went on to become one of the best defenders in league history.
He is one of players who have won the Player of the Season twice. The others are Cristiano Ronaldo, Mohamed Salah, Thierry Henry, and Kevin De Bruyne.
While he famously struggled in some matchups against Liverpool — receiving four red cards in 13 appearances — he still won seven of those games.
He also scored once against the Merseyside outfit, netting the second goal in a 2-1 victory over them in January 2013.
Vidic had a strong record against Aston Villa as he was only on the losing side once in 11 encounters against them.
Stats from transfermarkt.com & manutd.com
Article written by Henry Thornton .