Manchester United legend Nemanja Vidic admits Rafael Benitez inadvertently scuppered Liverpool’s hopes of luring him to the Premier League during the defender’s time at Spartak Moscow.
Talk about a sliding door’s moment.
If Benitez had struck while the proverbial iron was hot – rather than leaving Vidic sitting and waiting for the phone to ring – would one of the greatest centre-halves in Premier League history have made his name in a slightly darker hue some 35 miles down the M62?
Vidic, speaking to his former defensive partner Rio Ferdinand on the Vibe with Five podcast, admits that Liverpool came calling before that bargain £7 million move to Old Trafford 18 years ago.
Nemanja Vidic could have joined Liverpool before Manchester United
“Liverpool was involved. I spoke with Rafa Benitez. He was the one first in touch with me, at Spartak Moscow. My wife was talking to him because my English was not great!” Vidic recalls.
“He was asking me if I wanted to come to England. Everything was great. And then, for two or three weeks, he didn’t call.”
Sir Alex Ferguson would eventually snatch the Serbian colossus from under Benitez’s nose. Vidic was unveiled at Man United alongside a baby-faced Patrice Evra back in January 2005; a transfer window which, in hindsight, must go down as one of the most successful in the club’s entire Premier League history.
“Fergie called and he said ‘Hi Nemanja’. He said ‘I’ve been looking at you for the last six months, a year. I like the way you play, I think you would be good for the club. Do you want to join’?” Vidic adds.
“I said; ‘Yes, of course I would like to join’. In one week, I was in Manchester so it was fast.”
Vidic would spent nearly a decade in England’s north west, winning five Premier League titles, three League Cups and the 2008 Champions League, among others.
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